Concerned family

My name is Erin Henry. Along with my husband and 3 children, we have a small family farm northwest of the proposed burial site. We are adamantly opposed to hosting the nuclear waste repository in our region due to some very serious concerns.

Firstly, the proposed transportation of this dangerous waste over decades is a frightening proposition indeed. Accidents will happen and even the most safe containment system will inevitably fail under the right conditions. As we have seen this season accidents involving semi trucks were innumerable and included fuel and pesticide trucks spilling waste along our highways. Even one accident involving spent nuclear waste would be catastrophic for people and the environment. 

We live just north of the Wabigoon river west of the Dryden mill. The lake at the end of our road has such high mercury levels in the fish that they are not safe to eat. With all the mining and milling, we suffer the highest cancer rates in Ontario and deal with profound impacts from industrial chemical exposure. We in the northwest have been treated as a place of extraction and careless waste disposal for too long. Our communities deserve to be places where sustainable and healthy lifestyles and workplaces can flourish. There are better ways forward, but not if we are forced into this constant loop of boom and bust that leaves our people and land sick and toxic.

Experts agree that safe containment should occur near the sites where the waste is generated. It is the only option in my opinion. I don't believe burying waste is safe and that it should be managed by rolling stewardship of waste sites where we can monitor waste and be sure to discover leaks or other issues. Barring this option, the only responsible choice is to dispose of the waste as close as possible to the nuclear plants - in our province that means southern Ontario, where the waste is created and the energy is consumed.

My children deserve a future here on this land. This future depends on healthy water, land and animals. People are attracted to the notion of good jobs for a generation or two, but the consequences far outweigh a few good jobs for a few people. 

Please, do not allow this site to move forward. We have a responsibility to this beautiful land and the communities along the highway as well as us who live nearby and in the watershed. We need to make brave choices and take brave action to protect the land and water for future generations.