The International Institute of Concern for Public Health (IICPH) believes that a violation of public trust occurred when Canadian Parliament overrode the decision of the president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), Linda Keen, to close the Atomic Energy of Canada (AECL) National Reactor Universal (NRU) reactor that produces medical radioisotopes. This was followed by the dismissal of Linda Keene from her position as president. IICPH believes that Keen acted responsibly within the CNSC mandate. “It was the correct decision to shut it down”, said New Brunswick IICPH Project Manager, Willi Nolan, “Disregard of CNSC directives shows a disregard for public safety”.

The AECL was ordered to install backup electricity for the reactor’s emergency cooling pumps, essential for safe operation particularly in the event of an earthquake. In a front-page news article in the 16 January 2008 issue of The Ottawa Citizen, it was stated that AECL had still not completed the work on 8 November 2007. The commission said its staff reminded the AECL that connecting the remaining pump to the special electrical supply (EPS) was a condition of its license. Media also reported the AECL as saying that they could make the required changes in about sixteen days. “Begs the question, why didn’t they?” asks Nolan.

The NRU reactor at Chalk River is the oldest research reactor in the world and is located in a known earthquake zone. The backup quake-proof electrical supply to emergency pumps are necessary in case of an electrical breakdown which could lead to the reactor overheating. Willi Nolan, commented, “Perhaps we’re just lucky there hasn’t been a nuclear meltdown there yet!”

The Auditor-General presented her audit of AECL in September 2007 and identified management problems and “significant deficiencies” that will cost upwards of one billion dollars to fix. The report also revealed that AECL’s Maple 1 and Maple 2 reactors at Chalk River, are eight years behind schedule and costs are way over budget, apparently due to a safety-related design flaw. Atomic Energy Canada is also having design problems with its Advanced CANDU Reactor, which it intends to sell to the Canadian public and afterwards to international markets.

New Brunswick’s aging Point Lepreau nuclear power station still needs major refurbishment following major upgrades that have already cost taxpayers $1.2 billion. Even so, AECL is pushing for a second nuclear plant in New Brunswick using a model that is still under development. IICPH believes that New Brunswickers need to look at better options, considering the Auditor-General’s reports and the revealed deficiencies at Chalk River. This beautiful province has good winds, plenty of sunshine and tidal bores. If the tax dollars available for building a new power plant were spent on renewable energy, New Brunswick could fairly quickly replace it with affordable, clean and reliable energy. A switch to renewables would take less time than the present scenario. They’re doing this in many countries in Europe. It makes no sense to waste more money on nuclear power.

The International Institute of Concern for Public Health maintains that the problem of nuclear waste is ultimately unsolvable. There is still no satisfactory solution for disposing of the nuclear waste already accumulated; our children and future generations continue to be at extreme risk, even after years of trial and error. We believe there is sufficient evidence of harm to say that the use of nuclear reactors for any reason does not pass the test of the Precautionary Principle. Decisions to approve energy technologies must be based on the Precautionary Principle. When human activity puts human health or the environment at risk, we must take the road of precaution, even if all of the causes and effects aren’t yet fully proven by science.

Contact information:
IICPH Toronto Office
PO Box 80523
RPO White Shields
2300 Lawrence Ave. East
Toronto, ON M1P 4Z5
www.iicph.org
info@iicph.org
Tel: 1-416-786-6128