February 16, 2022

Duckworth Joins Stabenow in Introducing Resolution to Stop Canadian Nuclear Waste Site Near Great Lakes

 

[WASHINGTON D.C.]—U.S. Senator Duckworth joined U.S. Senator Stabenow to introduce a resolution opposing Canada’s placement of a permanent nuclear waste storage site near the shared Great Lakes Basin. Canada is currently considering a storage site at South Bruce, just 30 miles from Lake Huron. The resolution urges President Biden and his administration to work with the Canadian government to find an alternative location to permanently store nuclear waste that does not pose a threat to the Great Lakes.

“For years, communities across the U.S. have been forced to house nuclear waste, despite the significant negative social and economic impacts,” said Senator Duckworth. “I agree that we need a long term storage solution for nuclear waste but the Great Lakes region, an absolutely vital water resource for millions of Americans, should not be that solution. I’m proud to join this resolution with my colleagues because I’m committed to doing all I can to protect our nation’s water.”

“Placing a nuclear waste facility next to one of the world’s largest supplies of fresh water makes absolutely no sense and is dangerous. Our Great Lakes are central to our Michigan way of life, and any nuclear waste spill would be devastating. I strongly urge our Canadian neighbors to make the right choice and stop any plans to store nuclear waste so close to the Great Lakes,” said Senator Stabenow.

Duckworth and Stabenow were joined by U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) as cosponsors of the resolution. 

Over 40 million people in the United States and Canada get their drinking water from the Great Lakes. Meanwhile, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, a nonprofit created by the Canadian government, is proposing to build a permanent nuclear waste repository at South Bruce to store high-level nuclear waste in the Great Lakes Basin. The highly toxic waste could take tens of thousands of years to decompose to safe levels. 

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