And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Date: Tue, 07 Sep 1999 18:40:18 -0400
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: Lynne Moss-Sharman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Plutonium Shipment through Sault Ste. Marie
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Saultites worry about possible plutonium shipment
By CHERRI GREENO, Special to The Star
An announcement last week pinpointing Sault Ste. Marie as a likely point of entry for
trucks carrying weapons-grade plutonium has some residents fearful for their safety
and angry at the lack of information. Shoppers interviewed Saturday afternoon at the
Station Mall said they need to know more about the shipment before their fears are
eased.
"I want to know how safe it is," said Kenneth Perrin as he sipped a cup of coffee at
the food court. "They are not telling us anything about it. If it blew up, how much
damage would it do?"
His wife Eleanor agreed, suggesting that the government should release more
information before allowing such a shipment to pass through the area.
"I just don't feel comfortable because they haven't given us enough information," she
said.
Richard Nolan, an area resident for 20 years, said not only is the shipment dangerous,
but it will also open the door for possible terrorist attacks.
"There is a lot of terrorism in the world," he said. "And there are a lot of
terrorists looking for the opportunity to hijack something."
He said many people in the area don't know what plutonium is and as a result may not
be aware of the dangers.
"People don't know the dangers that go along with it and the potential hazards," he
said. "The public has been left in the dark about this.
"I don't feel comfortable with it coming here especially when it's not ours."
The announcement of a plan to transport the plutonium, derived from the U.S. atomic
warheads in New Mexico, through the Sault came last Thursday from Foreign Affairs
Minister Lloyd Axworthy.
The preliminary plan, which still needs final approval from Transport Canada, calls
for the shipment of mixed oxide fuel exported from Los Alamos, N.M., through the
United States to the Sault International Bridge. It will then be transported about
eight hours east along Highway 17 to the Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. facilities in
Chalk River.
The 120-gram MOX shipment, a blend of 97 per cent uranium and three per cent plutonium
oxide, will be used in a test burn to assess the suitability of Candu reactor
technology to dispose of surplus plutonium from dismantled nuclear warheads.
A similar-sized shipment will arrive in Cornwall by ship from Russia and be trucked to
Chalk River.
"This is bloody awful," said resident Maurice Ruest. "They are playing with our own
lives here.
"When you play with that kind of stuff it gets dangerous. This is not a truck of
Coca-Cola."
Sault, Mich., resident, Susan Hutt, visiting the area for a day of shopping, said she
was very concerned when she first heard about the possibility of the shipment. But she
said its not possible to form an educated opinion without knowing enough about the
issue.
"I just hope it is heavily escorted so there will be no risk of an accident," she
said. "Maybe they could have cars flashing lights in front and back of it just to make
sure people know it is not a regular transport."
But this wouldn't satisfy 18-year-old mall employee Dave Willson. He said allowing the
shipment would simply put too many people's lives at risk.
"I just don't think it's safe," he said. "If something happened a lot of people would
be blamed and a lot of people would go bye-bye."
"Let Us Consider The Human Brain As
A Very Complex Photographic Plate"
1957 G.H. Estabrooks
www.angelfire.com/mn/mcap/bc.html
FOR K A R E N #01182
who died fighting 4/23/99
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.aches-mc.org
807-622-5407
