Radioactive waste processing should not be allowed onshore

Jun 12, 2023 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Peeping tom…

Kaieteur News – We have a major threat to the health of tens of thousands of our citizens. It is from the transportation, storage and passage of radioactive materials emanating from the oil and other industries.

Why any government would allow the movement of radioactive materials through Guyana’s waters and along the coastline is incomprehensible. Radioactive waste presents a threat to the health and safety of our people. If something goes wrong, thousands of our people can get sick and even die.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has warned that radioactive contamination can enter the human body through ingestion, inhalation, absorption, or injection. Long-term exposure and can lead to all manner of problems including cancer and birth defects.

Right now, there are plans afoot to have radioactive waste stored and processed in Guyana and then returned to the manufacturers or suppliers outside of Guyana. We are also told that the wastes would not be passing along any of the public thoroughfares in Guyana. Presumably, it will be ferried to the storage facility via river before being exported.

The fact that the wastes are not being ferried by road is of little comfort. Radioactive waste should not be allowed to enter our internal waters or land. Nor it is of any relief that we are told that what will be taking place locally is to “calibrate and store sealed radioactive sources enclosed within a tightly-sealed capsule, surrounded by layers of non-radioactive material, and securely affixed to a non-radioactive source, effectively preventing any potential leakage or environmental release.”

The fact that the waste has to be brought to shore to store in a tightly-sealed capsule suggests that when it is brought onshore, it is not sealed and therefore, there could potentially be a risk. If there is an accident during transport or processing, there is a risk that people can be affected.

If, as we are being told, the radioactive materials would be sealed and that at no point would any radioactive materials be exposed or opened, then why is it necessary to bring it onshore? If this is the case, then export it immediately.

It is incomprehensible that the Environmental Protection Agency would have waived the requirement for an environmental impact assessment for a facility which is being constructed to carry out certain operations relating to the radioactive materials.

The government is fully aware of the dangers of radiation. Last year, it tabled a Radiation Safety and Security Bill. The explanatory memorandum of the Bill states that it is important to establish measures to protect individuals, society and the environment from the potentially harmful effects of ionizing radiation, including those that can result from improper use, accidents or malicious acts.

The Bill’s aim is to protect persons and the environment from the harmful effects of radioactive wastes. It therefore is difficult to understand why the government, including the EPA, would be even entertaining applications for any kind of operations involving radioactive wastes before the establishment of the proposed Radiation Safety and Protection Board. The Board is supposed to have the powers to approve licenses and inspect facilities dealing with radiation.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has long made known its objection to the movement of radioactive wastes through the Caribbean. In 2011, the Caribbean Community called for an immediate cessation to the transit of radioactive material through the Caribbean Sea. This practice was described as unacceptable and injurious. The then Chairman of CARICOM condemned the plans to move such wastes through the Caribbean Sea. He indicated that it compromises the Region’s ecosystems and places at risk the lives of people.

The proposed plans to conduct operations on radioactive waste in Guyana should be of concern to the Member States of the Caribbean Community. After all, most of the countries of the Region, including Guyana, have ratified the Protocols of the Cartegena Convention.

The government of Guyana should not be entertaining any application for the movement, storage and processing of radioactive wastes within Guyana. There is no reason why radioactive wastes produced during oil exploration and pumping should not be processed offshore and away from the civilian population.

Those who are involved in fighting to prevent radioactive waste coming onshore in Guyana should up the ante and should educate the public more about the dangers to which they can be exposed. Glenn Lall should provide them with an audience on his show.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Kaieteur News.

 

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• Cartegena Convention, The Caribbean Community, The United Nations Environment Programme

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