Fwd: Uranium News: Dec 5, 2009: Doctors resign en masse over uranium exploration in Quebec

[Steev Morgan]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Uranium News" <urani...@mail.ccamu.ca>
Date: Dec 5, 2009 7:09 PM
Subject: Uranium News: Dec 5, 2009: Doctors resign en masse over uranium exploration in Quebec
To: <greenlyn...@yahoo.ca>



URANIUM NEWS

DECEMBER 5, 2009


IN THIS ISSUE:

1) CCAMU MESSAGE
2) DOCTORS RESIGN EN MASSE OVER URANIUM EXPLORATION IN QUEBEC
3) ARTICLE: TRITIUM ON TAP
4) PRESS RELEASE: GREEN PARTY OF CANADA
5) MININGWATCH CANADA: MINING DAY ON THE HILL
6) ARTICLE: NUCLEAR FLEET SHOWS ITS AGE
7) ARTICLE: NUNAVUT MLAS PRESSED FOR PUBLIC INQUIRY ON URANIUM MINING
8) ARTICLE: SOLAR PANEL COSTS 'SET TO FALL'

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1) CCAMU MESSAGE

Greetings. Though the local uranium protest in the Frontenac/Lanark region has been very quiet as of late, many CCAMU members have continued to do environmental work that addresses the core issues we have with uranium exploration and mining in Canada and the World. CCAMU continues to call for a moratorium on uranium exploration and mining. This needs to happen, not only in our region of Ontario, but in every region on this planet. After extensive research we believe that uranium cannot be safely removed from the ground nor used to generate electricity for our energy hungry power grid. Uranium tailing ponds are still as lethal as they were when we started the June 2007 protest in the Frontenac/Lanark region and even more detailed information has come to light regarding the safety of the world's nuclear power plants.

Since our fight began the Ontario Liberal Government has done an about-face on investing in nuclear power. Unfortunately our government continues to deny the dangers of uranium exploration, mining and use but they have recognized that large scale nuclear power is simply too costly for Ontario taxpayers to afford. A greater focus on reduced consumption and alternative power generation has resulted.

The following article from the Montreal Gazette has no doubt caused the Quebec government to rethink their recent legislation that continues to allow uranium exploration in the province. The fact that 20 doctors are not only willing to give up their jobs but also relocate their families outside the region is a stunning triumph for the world-wide anti-uranium-nuclear campaign.

Best wishes to you and yours during this season of festivities, Lynn Daniluk

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2) DOCTORS RESIGN EN MASSE OVER URANIUM EXPLORATION IN QUEBEC

The Gazette
December 4, 2009

MONTREAL - Twenty doctors have handed in their resignations at the Centre hospitalier régional de Sept-Îles.

"In an open letter addressed to Quebec Health Minister Yves Bolduc, the physicians say they have quit, as a group, to protest plans to build an uranium mine on the North Shore.

The protest comes on the heels of the introduction new government mining legislation, which does not impose a moratorium on uranium exploitation in Quebec.

The doctors say they fear for their own families' health as well as for the health of the population in the region."

To read the rest of this article go to,

http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Doctors+resign+masse+over+uranium+exploration/2302892/story.html

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3) ARTICLE: TRITIUM ON TAP

Radioactive waste contaminating water supply: report

Nov. 20, 2009
By: Mike De Souza, Canwest News Service
Ottawa Citizen

Controlled Ottawa River leak OK, AECL says

"Nuclear facilities and power plants are contaminating Canadian food and water with radioactive waste that increases risks of cancer and birth defects, says a new report to be released today. The report, Tritium on Tap, produced by the Sierra Club of Canada, warned that radioactive emissions from various nuclear plants across the country have more than doubled over the past decade. The figures were based on statistics compiled by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, which measured pollution coming from the plants."

To read the rest of this article go to,

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Radioactive+waste+contaminating+water+supply+report/2243893/story.html

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4) PRESS RELEASE: GREEN PARTY OF CANDA

Taxpayers on the Hook for Nuclear Liability?

December 2009 - 10:24am

OTTAWA -- As the Nuclear Liability and Compensation Act is being examined by the Natural Resources Committee, the Green Party of Canada is calling on the Canadian government to ensure that responsibility for the clean up of nuclear pollution is placed on the nuclear industry, not the taxpayer.

“If there was a nuclear accident in Canada, the costs of dealing with the aftermath would be staggering and the nuclear industry would only have to contribute a miniscule amount while taxpayers would be on the hook for the rest,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May.

Under the current Act, the liability limit is only $650 million, while the Green Party has been calling for the limit to be raised to match the $13 billion amount for which US reactors are insured.  The Nuclear Insurance Association of Canada (NIAC) has now said they would accept a liability limit of at least a billion.

“Even the insurance industry has recognized that the currently low liability limit in Canada’s regulations is inadequate to deal properly with a nuclear accident,” said May.

Before her 2007 dismissal by then Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn, the former head of Canada's nuclear safety regulator Linda Keen had commissioned a study regarding population densities around nuclear reactors and the possible need for buffer zones.  This study has not been completed.

In an interview with the Toronto Star, Keen discussed the example of the Pickering Station.  If an accident or attack were to compromise a reactor in Pickering, it would necessitate the evacuation of almost three hundred thousand people.  “It is truly unfortunate that there is no follow through on Linda Keen’s important work,” said May.  “These issues are extremely important to consider as decisions are made regarding Canada’s aging nuclear facilities.”

The Green Party of Canada calls on the Provinces to phase out existing nuclear power and for the federal government to stop subsidizing all phases of the nuclear industry and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and stop promoting CANDU reactors.

Contact Information:
Debra Eindiguer
Press Secretary
C: 613.240.8921
me...@greenparty.ca
www.greenparty.ca


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5) MININGWATCH CANADA: MINING DAY ON THE HILL

Mining Day on the Hill - What you should know about mining and Canadian mining companies

Nov 23 2009

"In anticipation of the annual Mining Day on the Hill lobbying frenzy, MiningWatch Canada would like to provide you with an alternative perspective on several important issues. The mining industry is one of the most policy-privileged industries in Canada. This is despite the fact that at home and around the world, the industry has generated massive environmental impacts, created social conflicts, and infringed on Aboriginal rights and title. This brief outlines our concerns regarding: the need to hold Canadian companies to account for their international operations; the industry's privileged tax regime; the importance of environmental assessment; and the need to reverse the trend of dumping toxic mine wastes into our precious aquatic ecosystems."

To read the rest of this information go to,

http://www.miningwatch.ca/en/mining-day-hill-what-you-should-know-about-mining-and-canadian-mining-companies

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6) ARTICLE: NUCLEAR FLEET SHOWS ITS AGE

A three-decade life extension might make economic sense, but is it too risky for residents?

Nov 28, 2009
Toronto Star
By Tyler Hamilton

"Kathy Hogeveen remembers the sugar cubes most.

They were there, along with the free coffee, at the visitor's centre at Pickering nuclear station. It was the mid-1970s and Hogeveen and her friends were typical teenyboppers — restless and bored. They used to ride to the plant on their bikes to watch movies about the wonders of safe, clean, low-cost nuclear power. There, in what seemed like their own private theatre, they'd suck on a seemingly endless supply of cubed sweets."

To read the rest of this article go to,

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/731959--nuclear-fleet-shows-its-age

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7) ARTICLE: NUNAVUT MLAS PRESSED FOR PUBLIC INQUIRY ON URANIUM MINING


December 02, 2009

Lobby group seeks greater scrutiny of impacts

By: Chris Windeyer

"A new lobby group that wants Nunavut's MLAs to order a public inquiry on uranium mining held its first public meeting this past weekend.

Nunavummiut Makitagunarningit ("Nunavummiut can rise up") wants to spark debate on Nunavut's budding uranium mining sector and is circulating a petition calling on MLAs to hold public hearings on the industry.

Group spokeswoman Sandra Inutiq told a crowd of about 40 people that Nunavummiut need to decide if the benefits of mining the radioactive mineral outweigh the environmental risks."

To read the rest of this article go to,

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/nunavut_mlas_pressed_for_public_inquiry_on_uranium_mining/

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8) ARTICLE: SOLAR PANEL COSTS 'SET TO FALL'

Dec 2, 2009

By: Roger Harrabin, Environment analyst, BBC News

"The cost of installing and owning solar panels will fall even faster than expected according to new research.

The fall in cost is due to the increased lifetime, the institute says.

Tests show that 90% of existing solar panels last for 30 years, instead of the predicted 20 years.

According to the independent EU Energy Institute, this brings down the lifetime cost.

The institute says the panels are such a good long-term investment that banks should offer mortgages on them like they do on homes."

To read the rest of this article go to,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8386460.stm