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Bruce Power has put plans on hold, for shipping decommissioned steam generators to Sweden for recycling. Spokesperson John Peevers says the window of opportunity to ship them out this year, has passed.

The Seaway starts to close down around Christmas time,” he says. “The Port of Owen Sound will close, and it has become very obvious that shipping this year isn't going to b a possibility.”

Peevers says the nuclear generating company has yet to receive a licence or the go-ahead from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) to ship the low-level radioactive generators over Bruce County Roads to the Owen Sound Harbour. He says it's just a matter of waiting for the official word.

“Like everybody else, we're waiting for the CNSC decision as we know (the regulator) extended the deadline to Nov. 22 to allow people to give feedback on additional documents the CNSC produced out of the hearings in September,” Peevers says. “They (CNSC) make decisions in 30 days but we're not going to pre-judge the CNSC; we'll wait for the decision. I'm sure we'll hear about it when they make the decision.”

Peevers says it is hoped the project can proceed in the spring. The plan calls for 16 100-tonne steam generators to be sent to Sweden for recycling, reducing the volume of nuclear waste to just 10 per cent which would be returned and stored at the Bruce site.

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Thursday, December 23, 2010