Here's an important issue that will be of interest to HP activists.

>Return-Path: <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Plutonium for CANDUs?
>From:  Joe Vise <[log in to unmask]>
>To:    [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask],
>       [log in to unmask]
>Date:  Thu, 17 Apr 1997 15:49:52 -0400
>
>FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Shepherd <[log in to unmask]>
>            OR EMAIL TO: [log in to unmask] (Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout)
>
>Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout, 412-1 Nicholas Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 7B7
>
>CNP ACTION ALERT - WEAPONS PLUTONIUM TO FUEL CANDUs? - NO THANKS!
>
>                                                        April 4, 1997
>Dear friends,
>
>We are facing an issue of unprecedented urgency and we need your
>help.
>
>Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and Ontario Hydro have put
>forward a plan to import 100 tonnes of weapons plutonium from the
>United States and Russia over the next 25 years. This weapons
>plutonium will be in the form of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel bundles
>(a mixture of plutonium oxide and uranium oxide) to be used in
>Ontario CANDU reactors. Without any public consultation or
>parliamentary debate, Prime Minister Jean Chretien has declared
>that Canada supports the plan in principle. Permission has
>already been granted to import 600 grams of plutonium from
>nuclear weapons stockpiles for the purposes of a "test burn" in a
>nuclear reactor located at Chalk River, Ontario.
>
>The test burn at Chalk River is scheduled to take place this
>spring and the Atomic Energy Control Board has decided that an
>environmental assessment is unnecessary. However, the Minister of
>Natural Resources has stated "the project  would have to undergo
>an assessment and licensing approvals by the relevant federal and
>provincial safety, health, and environment regulatory
>authorities." According to  Minister McLellan, the approval
>processes would include full public review of the proposal.
>
>There is widespread opposition to the use of weapons plutonium
>fuel. Throughout 1996, a number of Canadian public-interest
>groups, including Energy Probe, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear
>Responsibility, Nuclear Awareness Project, Concerned Citizens of
>Manitoba, Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and  Sierra Club
>of Canada, wrote to members of the federal cabinet to express
>their concerns about plutonium fuel imports. At the international
>level, 171 environmental, peace and medical organizations issued a
>statement on January 14, 1997 condemning the U.S. decision to
>allow the use of plutonium fuel in commercial nuclear reactors.
>
>The Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout is opposed to the importation
>and use of plutonium fuel for a number of reasons.
>
>This initiative will not turn "swords into ploughshares".
>Instead, it will help launch a deadly global plutonium economy.
>While using weapons plutonium in reactors consumes a portion of
>that plutonium, new plutonium will be produced as waste.
>Plutonium production worldwide is increasing and Canada is not
>opposing it. This plan could mark the start of a "plutonium
>economy". This would mean an ongoing supply of plutonium derived
>from civilian and military sources will find its way into
>countries around the world. Moreover, the importation of
>plutonium fuel would add to Canada's nuclear waste problems.
>
>The plutonium fuel initiative only serves to prop up Canada's
>declining nuclear industry and its unsustainable means of
>generating electrical power. Nuclear reactors around the world,
>including CANDU reactors in Canada, are being shut down long
>before their predicted lifespan. Under the plutonium fuel import
>plan, Canada would be committed to running specific reactors for
>decades into the future, even if they need expensive repairs or
>cheaper and safer energy alternatives are available. Canada would
>be committed to supporting the nuclear industry for another
>quarter of a century.
>
>The transportation of plutonium fuel in Canada poses a serious
>potential health and safety risk. If even a small amount of
>plutonium were to be dispersed into the environment there could
>be disastrous consequences. International Physicians for the
>Prevention of Nuclear War, a Nobel-prize-winning organization,
>has estimated that 27 micrograms of insoluble plutonium-239 in
>the lungs would be sufficient to cause cancer in an adult human
>being. (Plutonium:  Deadly Gold of the Nuclear Age, International
>Physicians Press, 1992, p. 148). At that rate, the 600 grams of
>plutonium (equivalent to 600 million micrograms) for the proposed
>Chalk River test burn is theoretically enough to kill about 3/4 of
>the population in Canada.
>
>The security measures necessary to safeguard the importation of
>plutonium would affect the civil liberties of Canadians. Because
>the proposed plan necessitates shipping nuclear weapons-usable
>plutonium over enormous distances, it might well increase the
>likelihood that such material could fall into the hands of
>terrorists. The US National Academy of Sciences has stated that
>shipments of plutonium fuel will require security measures
>equivalent to those needed for transport of nuclear weapons. The
>Harvard Law School and the United Kingdom Royal Commission on
>Environmental Pollution have stated that the security measures
>and civil liberties implications of using plutonium as an article
>of commerce are a serious concern.
>
>The federal government's support for the plutonium fuel
>initiative is not based on any open democratic process. Please
>contact your elected federal representatives and tell them that
>the plutonium fuel test-burn and subsequent import plans should
>not go forward.
>
>We are enclosing a letter you can send to your MP and a sign-on
>letter which if returned to CNP will be forwarded to the Prime
>Minister and the Ministers of Natural Resources, Foreign Affairs,
>and Environment. Please copy and distribute these letters to your
>friends and colleagues. We suggest you also write to your
>provincial Premier.
>
>Please send us  copies of your letters to the Prime Minister,
>Members of Parliament and other politicians so  we can keep a
>record of public opposition. We want to know about your efforts
>to stop the import of weapons plutonium fuel. Thank you.
>
>Sincerely,
>                   Kristen Ostling
>                     Coordinator
>
>Write to your MP and the Prime Minister postage-free:
>
>   House of Commons
>   Ottawa Ontario  K1A 0A6
>You can fax the Prime Minister at  613-941-6900 or telephone:
>613-992-4211
>
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Two sample letters follow:
>
>Please complete and return to CNP by April 23, 1997 (by fax:
>613-241-2292, by mail: 412-1 Nicholas Street, Ottawa, Ontario,
>K1N 7B7). We will forward your letters to Parliament Hill.
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
>
>                                                      April 1997
>
>The Right Honourable Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada
>The Honourable Anne McLellan, Minister of Natural Resources
>The Honourable Lloyd Axworthy, Minister of Foreign Affairs and
>International Trade
>The Honourable Sergio Marchi, Minister of Environment
>House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
>
>Dear Prime Minister Chretien and Ministers McLellan, Axworthy and
>Marchi:
>
>Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and Ontario Hydro have put
>forward a plan to import 100 tonnes of weapons plutonium from the
>United States and Russia over the next 25 years. This weapons
>plutonium will be in the form of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel bundles
>(a mixture of plutonium oxide and uranium oxide) to be used in
>Ontario CANDU reactors. Without any public consultation or
>parliamentary debate, Prime Minister Jean Chretien has declared
>that Canada supports the plan in principle. Permission has
>already been granted to import 600 grams of plutonium from
>nuclear weapons stockpiles for the purposes of a "test burn" in a
>nuclear reactor located at Chalk River, Ontario.
>
>The plutonium fuel test burn and subsequent import plans should
>not go forward for the following reasons:
>
>This initiative will not turn "swords into ploughshares".
>Instead, it will help launch a deadly global plutonium economy by
>increasing the accessibility and potential for proliferation of
>this nuclear explosive.
>
>The plutonium fuel initiative only serves to prop up Canada's
>declining nuclear industry and its unsustainable means of
>generating electrical power. Under the plutonium fuel import plan
>Canada would be committed to running specific reactors for decades
>into the future, even if they need expensive repairs or cheaper
>and safer energy alternatives are available.
>
>The transportation of plutonium fuel in Canada poses a serious
>potential health and safety risk. If even a small amount of
>plutonium was dispersed into the environment there could be
>catastrophic consequences.
>
>The security measures necessary to safeguard the importation of
>plutonium would affect the civil liberties of Canadians.
>Shipments of plutonium fuel will require security measures
>equivalent to those needed for the transport of nuclear weapons.
>
>I urge you to reverse your decision allowing the import of
>mixed-oxide plutonium fuel.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Signature:
>Name:
>Address:
>
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Please add your MP's name to this letter and send it postage-free
>to the House of Commons by April 23, 1997.
>Please forward a copy of your letter to CNP, 412-1 Nicholas
>Street,Ottawa, K1N 7B7.
>...............................................................
>
>                                                   April 1997
>.  .  .  .  .
>House of Commons
>Ottawa, Ontario
>K1A 0A6
>
>Dear
>
>Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and Ontario Hydro have put
>forward a plan to import 100 tonnes of weapons plutonium from the
>United States and Russia over the next 25 years. This weapons
>plutonium will be in the form of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel bundles
>(a mixture of plutonium oxide and uranium oxide) to be used in
>Ontario CANDU reactors. Without any public consultation or
>parliamentary debate, Prime Minister Jean Chretien has declared
>that Canada supports the plan in principle. Permission has
>already been granted to import 600 grams of plutonium from
>nuclear weapons stockpiles for the purposes of a "test burn" in a
>nuclear reactor located at Chalk River, Ontario.
>
>The plutonium fuel test burn and subsequent import plans should
>not go forward for the following reasons:
>
>This initiative will not turn "swords into ploughshares".
>Instead, it will help launch a deadly global plutonium economy by
>increasing the accessibility and potential for proliferation of
>this nuclear explosive.
>
>The plutonium fuel initiative only serves to prop up Canada's
>declining nuclear industry and its unsustainable means of
>generating electrical power. Under the plutonium fuel import plan
>Canada would be committed to running specific reactors for decades
>into the future, even if they need expensive repairs or cheaper
>and safer energy alternatives are available.
>
>The transportation of plutonium fuel in Canada poses a serious
>potential health and safety risk. If even a small amount of
>plutonium was dispersed into the environment there could be
>catastrophic consequences.
>
>The security measures necessary to safeguard the importation of
>plutonium would affect the civil liberties of Canadians.
>Shipments of plutonium fuel will require security measures
>equivalent to those needed for the transport of nuclear weapons.
>
>I request that you urge the government to reverse its decision
>allowing the import of mixed-oxide plutonium fuel.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Signature:
>Name:
>Address:
>
>
>
David Burman            [log in to unmask]
LETS Toronto            phone: 416-978-0536
                        fax:   416-878-8511