For a number of years, I have been complaining about the nuclear evacuation plan the City has in case of a nuclear emergency. The plan we have in place is nearly 15 years old. The City has changed significantly in that period of time. Has the plan? For that matter do any of the City residents even know about the plan?
Late last summer, the City and OPG were supposed to do an emergency siren test across the City. On the day of, I listened. Nothing. When I phoned the City and got re-routed to the OPG the explanation I got for not hearing the sirens alarm system notification was because it was tested in certain parts of the City only. As if when the nuclear plant goes off-kilter, only some parts of the City will be affected.
Then when I have complained about the danger and risk of the nuclear waste being stored at the plant here in Pickering, calming words reassured me the waste nuclear rods were safely stored in their water baths and that after 6 years the spent rods were no long a radiation danger. I’m missing the message here somewhere as I was once told those radioactive rods has a radiation life that lasted into the 1000’s of years if not 100’s. Is this a case of BBB (BS Baffles Brains) or don’t worry about him, he’s just an old codger grumbling.
Then I pursued this a little more with a City resident who’s been around the Pickering track for many years. Questioning him about the safety risks of a plant that is more than 50 years old, got me a blast of educational updating. Rather than trying to paraphrase what he wrote and digging myself into a pit of erroneous statements, let me just state what he wrote me…
“I only debate this issue because OPG has been caught in big lies in the past; all nuclear plants have a suggested life usage and 50 years seems to be the expert opinion of optimal use with continual maintenance upgrades. There is of course two sides of the coin; one is a business case and the most important is the safety case; Deuterium/Uranium fusion leaves us with a legacy of what to do with the spent fuels that stay highly radioactive for 1000’s of years.
- again our Mayor votes one way in 2000 (decommissioning) and then 4 years later voted another way.
- I have lost track of the extensions to closing the plant; at least 3 times;
- Things do break; even when the experts tell you it is safe – massive tritium leak s in 2002 into Lake Ontario; the MOH for Durham Region, Dr. Kyle, had to consider closing the drinking water intakes for Pickering/Ajax; dilution took care of the pollution; even though testing values were much higher than background limits;
- Prior to 2000 the plant had tritium leaks all over the property around the heavy water storage units;
We tend to have short memories and that’s why ‘Big business’ like OPG can play the long game.
