CNP ACTION ALERT

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and Ontario Hydro have put forward a plan to import 100 tonnes of weapons plutonium from the United States and Russia over the next 25 years. This weapons plutonium will be in the form of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel bundles (a mixture of plutonium oxide and uranium oxide) to be used in Ontario CANDU reactors. Without any public consultation or parliamentary debate, Prime Minister Jean Chretien has declared that Canada supports the plan in principle. Permission has already been granted to import 600 grams of plutonium from nuclear weapons stockpiles for the purposes of a "test burn" in a nuclear reactor located at Chalk River, Ontario.

The test burn at Chalk River is scheduled to take place this year and the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) has decided that an environmental assessment is unnecessary. However, the Minister of Natural Resources, Anne McLellan, has stated "the project would have to undergo an assessment and licensing approvals by the relevant federal and provincial safety, health, and environment regulatory authorities." According to Minister McLellan, the approval processes would include full public review of the proposal.

There is widespread opposition to the use of weapons plutonium fuel. Throughout 1996, a number of Canadian public-interest groups, including Energy Probe, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility (CCNR), Nuclear Awareness Project, Concerned Citizens of Manitoba, Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Sierra Club of Canada, wrote to members of the federal cabinet to express their concerns about plutonium fuel imports. At the international level, 171 environmental, peace and medical organizations issued a statement on January 14, 1997 condemning the U.S. decision to allow the use of plutonium fuel in commercial nuclear reactors.

The Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout is opposed to the importation and use of plutonium fuel for a number of reasons.

• This initiative will not turn "swords into ploughshares". Instead, it will help launch a deadly global plutonium economy. While using weapons plutonium in reactors consumes a portion of that plutonium, new plutonium will be produced as waste. Plutonium production worldwide is increasing and Canada is not opposing it. This plan could mark the start of a "plutonium economy". This would mean an ongoing supply of plutonium derived from civilian and military sources will find its way into countries around the world. Moreover, the importation of plutonium fuel would add to Canada's nuclear waste problems.

• The plutonium fuel initiative only serves to prop up Canada's declining nuclear industry and its unsustainable means of generating electrical power. Nuclear reactors around the world, including CANDU reactors in Canada, are being shut down long before their predicted lifespan. Under the plutonium fuel import plan, Canada would be committed to running specific reactors for decades into the future, even if they need expensive repairs or cheaper and safer energy alternatives are available. Canada would be committed to supporting the nuclear industry for another quarter of a century.

• The transportation of plutonium fuel in Canada poses a serious potential health and safety risk. If even a small amount of plutonium were to be dispersed into the environment there could be disastrous consequences. International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, a Nobel-prize-winning organization, has estimated that 27 micrograms of insoluble plutonium-239 in the lungs would be sufficient to cause cancer in an adult human being. (Plutonium: Deadly Gold of the Nuclear Age, International Physicians Press, 1992, p. 148). At that rate, the 600 grams of plutonium (equivalent to 600 million micrograms) for the proposed Chalk River test burn is theoretically enough to kill about ³/₄ of the population in Canada.

• The security measures necessary to safeguard the importation of plutonium would affect the civil liberties of Canadians. Because the proposed plan necessitates shipping nuclear weapons-usable plutonium over enormous distances, it might well increase the likelihood that such material could fall into the hands of terrorists. The US National Academy of Sciences has stated that shipments of plutonium fuel will require security measures equivalent to those needed for transport of nuclear weapons. The Harvard Law School and the United Kingdom Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution have stated that the security measures and civil liberties implications of using plutonium as an article of commerce are a serious concern.

Proposed routes for plutonium shipments.
[ Source: U.S. Department of Energy ]

The federal government's support for the plutonium fuel initiative is not based on any open democratic process. Please contact your newly-elected federal representatives and tell them that the plutonium fuel test-burn and subsequent import plans should not go forward.

We are enclosing

• a sign-on letter which -- if returned to CNP before May 23 -- will be forwarded to the Prime Minister and the Ministers of Natural Resources, Foreign Affairs, and Environment, as well as

• a letter you can send (after June 2) to your newly-elected MP.

Please copy and distribute these letters to your friends and colleagues. We suggest you also write to your provincial Premier, asking him if his government has been consulted by Ottawa on this issue of national and international importance.

Please send us copies of your letters to the Prime Minister, Members of Parliament and other politicians so we can keep a record of public opposition. We want to know about your efforts to stop the import of weapons plutonium fuel.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Kristen Ostling
Coordinator

The second letter should be sent directly to your newly-elected MP
by June 23, with a copy to CNP.

May 1997          

TO:

The Right Honourable Jean Chretien,
                Prime Minister of Canada
The Honourable Anne McLellan,
                Minister of Natural Resources
The Honourable Lloyd Axworthy,
                Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
The Honourable Sergio Marchi,
                Minister of Environment

House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

Dear Prime Minister Chrétien and Ministers
         McLellan, Axworthy and Marchi:

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and Ontario Hydro have put forward a plan to import 100 tonnes of weapons plutonium from the United States and Russia over the next 25 years. This weapons plutonium will be in the form of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel bundles (a mixture of plutonium oxide and uranium oxide) to be used in Ontario CANDU reactors. Without any public consultation or parliamentary debate, Prime Minister Jean Chretien has declared that Canada supports the plan in principle. Permission has already been granted to import 600 grams of plutonium from nuclear weapons stockpiles for the purposes of a "test burn" in a nuclear reactor located at Chalk River, Ontario.

The plutonium fuel test burn and subsequent import plans should not go forward for the following reasons:

• This initiative will not turn "swords into ploughshares". Instead, it will help launch a deadly global plutonium economy by increasing the accessibility and potential for proliferation of this nuclear explosive.

• The plutonium fuel initiative only serves to prop up Canada's declining nuclear industry and its unsustainable means of generating electrical power. Under the plutonium fuel import plan Canada would be committed to running specific reactors for decades into the future, even if they need expensive repairs or cheaper and safer energy alternatives are available.

• The transportation of plutonium fuel in Canada poses a serious potential health and safety risk. If even a small amount of plutonium was dispersed into the environment there could be catastrophic consequences.

• The security measures necessary to safeguard the importation of plutonium would affect the civil liberties of Canadians. Shipments of plutonium fuel will require security measures equivalent to those needed for the transport of nuclear weapons.

I urge you to reverse your government's decision allowing the import of mixed-oxide plutonium fuel.

Sincerely,

Signature:

Name:

Address:

June 1997          

House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

Dear ---------------

Congratulations on your recent election victory.

I am writing to ask your help on an issue of national and international importance.

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and Ontario Hydro have put forward a plan to import 100 tonnes of weapons plutonium from the United States and Russia over the next 25 years. This weapons plutonium will be in the form of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel bundles (a mixture of plutonium oxide and uranium oxide) to be used in Ontario CANDU reactors. Without any public consultation or parliamentary debate, Prime Minister Jean Chretien has declared that Canada supports the plan in principle. Permission has already been granted to import 600 grams of plutonium from nuclear weapons stockpiles for the purposes of a "test burn" in a nuclear reactor located at Chalk River, Ontario.

The plutonium fuel test burn and subsequent import plans should not go forward for the following reasons:

• This initiative will not turn "swords into ploughshares". Instead, it will help launch a deadly global plutonium economy by increasing the accessibility and potential for proliferation of this nuclear explosive.

• The plutonium fuel initiative only serves to prop up Canada's declining nuclear industry and its unsustainable means of generating electrical power. Under the plutonium fuel import plan Canada would be committed to running specific reactors for decades into the future, even if they need expensive repairs or cheaper and safer energy alternatives are available.

• The transportation of plutonium fuel in Canada poses a serious potential health and safety risk. If even a small amount of plutonium was dispersed into the environment there could be catastrophic consequences.

• The security measures necessary to safeguard the importation of plutonium would affect the civil liberties of Canadians. Shipments of plutonium fuel will require security measures equivalent to those needed for the transport of nuclear weapons.

I request that you urge the government to reverse its decision allowing the import of mixed-oxide plutonium fuel.

Sincerely,

Signature:

Name:

Address: