Absurd as it is …

(Originally published January 19, 2016 on https://athf3.wordpress.com/)

… radionuclides – radioactive isotopes, many of which are water-soluble – are not officially considered “chemicals of concern” by agencies that are supposed to watch over water quality in the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes are surronded by numerous nuclear power plants which create large quantities of intensely harmful isotopes in their reactor cores. An accident like Fukushima could dump large quantities into the Great Lakes. “Normal” reactor operations regularly dump smaller quantities.

It’s obvious we should be concerned about these isotopes in our water, but governmental institutions often avoid the obvious. We ordinary people need to point them in the right direction.

three-eyed fish

The Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) is seeking your support to an NGO letter addressed to the US Environmental Protection Agency and Environment and Climate Change Canada to designate radionuclides as a chemical of concern in the Great Lakes basin under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (Annex 3 – Chemicals of Mutual Concern).

A report, titled “Radionuclides as a Chemical of Mutual Concern in the Great Lakes Basin” explains this position in some detail. It will provide you with additional information that supports the nomination of radionuclides under Annex 3 of the Agreement.

The NGO letter recommending radionuclides as a chemicals of mutual concern in the Great Lakes marks the first effort to nominate chemicals under Annex 3 of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. CELA will coordinate a media release to mark the submission of the NGO letter and the CELA report to the Co-Chair of the Great Lakes Executive Committee of the Agreement. We aim to submit the NGO letter and CELA report in February (date to be confirmed). We will keep you posted on the release date and the development of the media strategy.

The letter is available here:  CELA NGO Letter

For those interested in supporting the NGO letter, please send an email to Fe de Leon, CELA at deleonf@cela.ca with the following information.

NAME of organization:
CONTACT:
POSITION (optional):
PROVINCE/STATE:
EMAIL:
TELEPHONE:

DEADLINE FOR RESPONSE: MONDAY FEBRUARY 1, 2016

But wait, there’s more:  A webinar to highlight the CELA report and the efforts to coordinate a NGO letter in support of a nomination of radionuclides under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement will be hosted by Northwatch.

WEBINAR:
Monday, January 25, 2016
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM Eastern Time (9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Central Time)

You can register for this webinar athttp://www.anymeeting.com/northwatch

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