4 - Wednesday, January 28, 1987 - North Shore News RP Sy Ce a rer Bob Hunter ® strictly personal @ eee bk a fey A WHILE ago, I praised Energy Minister Jack Davis for giving the thumbs-down to a crazy federal scheme, inspired by Tory Tom Siddon, to build a nuclear reactor at Fort Nelson. I took Davis’ move as a signal that he was therefore bound to renew the seven-year-old ban on uranium mining in B.C., which was due to expire. Maybe after aljl these years Jack Davis had learned something. Maybe the message of Chernobyl got through to him, if nothing else. But it turns out you can’t teach an old Atomic Energy of Canada salesman new tricks. | should have kaown that Davis would push this province back into the deadly world nuclear sweepstakes as soon as he could. “We want to tell the world that mining is a desirable activity in this province,” Davis said, upon an- nouncing that the uranium mining moratorium imposed by Bill Ben- nett in 1980 would be dropped this year. B.C.’s uranium is up for grabs again. Whatever Davis may have really wanited to tell the world, the world was told one thing clearly. Proba- bly the most sickening public gesture I have ever seen told the tale. When news of the moratorium’s end reached the floor of the Van- couver Stock Exchange in mid- December, a stock trader held up a drawing of an atomic bomb. The other traders cheered loud- ly. Nothing could have expressed the facts of the matter more elo- \ | i quently. Exactly, gentlemen. Ex- actly. You idiots! Anybody who thinks uranium mining in B.C. can be conducted without seriously contaminating the environment is either a moron or a monster who just doesn’t care. The United States’ own nuclear regulatory commission warned, as - far back as 1977, that uranium mining and milling are the most significant sources of exposure to the public from the entire nuclear industry. It is worse than even the hazards from nuclear reactors and plutoni- um wastes. This is because radia- tion from uranium mining opera- tions continues to leach, seep and leak into the ground, water and air for upwards of 250,000 years! When the ore body is disturbed, the available radon gas suddenly has access to the surface. Melting snow or rain can penetraie drill holes or shafts, so that contamina- tion occurs even if a mine is never actually built. Evidence presented to the B.C. uranium inquiry, chaired by Dr. David Bates back in 1980, showed that none of the mill tailings con- tainment structures proposed by the industry would have teen able to keep the uraniura wastes from eventually contaminating water systems in the province. These tailings, incidentally, con-. 30-50% off our entire collection of ... Designer Sheets ... Duvet Covers ... Down Quilts & Pillows ... synthetic Quilts & Pillows ... Wool & Cotton Mattress Covers ... Brass Beds Sale Ends: Feb. 8th. All Sales Final Lonsdale Quay Market 987-0008 tain toxic metals like lead, zinc, copper, molybdenum, manganese, cadmium and elements such as arsenic. About half of B.C.’s known uranium reserves lie just east of Kelowna in the Kettle River drainage system, which flows south directly into the Columbia River. It is estimated that 12 or 13 million tonnes of radioactive mill tailings would be produced if this stuff was mined. Just to give you a picture, this means enough radioactive waste to cover all of Stanley Park to a depth of 10 feet, according to Earth Embassy, and organization spearheading opposition to Davis’ grossiy irresponsible decision to dump this heap of toxic heavy metals on British Columbia. Soon after the Bates inquiry into uranium mining was opened, back in 1980, a tale of horrors began to unfold. The uranium industry’s track record was truly appalling. We learned about radiation spread in dust from blasting. There had been leaks galore, burst tail- ings dams, groundwater con- tamination. It all lead to lung cancer and death. The inquiry was cut off by Bill Bennett before Dr. Bates could get to the really dirty bits, such as public safety risks and, significant- ly, the ethics of selling the raw ma- terial from which nuclear weapons are made. {t was widely believed at the time, I recall, that Bennett was po- litically manoeuvering to keep the NDP from being transformed by the issue into an anti-nuxe party. My own feeling was that he feared the long-term effect on public opinion if the Canadian nu- clear industry's dirty linen was to be hung out in public. {tis really quite neat the way Bill Vander Zalm, a man who prom- ised open government, rammed the uranium mining edict through behind closed doors. He also managed to nicely avoid any kind of public hearings where the full horror story can come out. The B.C. Medical Association’s Dr. John O'Brien-Bell got it right when he said the moratorium should be re-imposed immediately. And Jack Davis, as far as I'm concerned, can resign any minute. He's a menace to society. On the North Shore since 1955 Sale of Sales G.E. 6 CYCLE © BUILT-IN DISHWASHER An exceptional value right now. 3 fevel wash action for effective cicaning. Soft food disposer suves you messy scraping and pre- rinsing. 6 convenient cycles Including heavy wash loads, rinse & hold, platewarmer... ENDS SATURDAY. YOU COULD WIN A FREE TRIP! Just for coming into the store, you could win a free trip to the Bahamas via Air Canada plus $500 spending money. Entry closing date is January 31, 1987. *489 'G.E. SPACEMAKER MICROWAVE OVEW This .8 cu. ft. G.E. micro- wave comes with an under-cabinet mount- Ing kit. Features Include electronic timer, micro- touch controls, auto- welght defrost & cook: and 4 stage program- ming. With free Microwave Ccokbook... G.E. 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