'There was no cover-up' of nuclear reactor leak

subscribe

The head of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission said he did not feel compelled to alert the public about a nuclear reactor leak last year and was surprised by the attention it received.

"We were caught by surprise at the level of interest that the events generated," commission president Michael Binder told the House of Commons standing committee on natural resources. "There was no cover-up. There were no risks to health, safety or the environment from these events."

The nuclear reactor at Chalk River had to extend an outage in December for what operator Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. said at the time were technical problems.

It emerged last month that 47 kilograms of heavy water had leaked into a sump. About 4.5 kg of radioactive tritium also evaporated.

Binder said the company alerted nuclear safety officials immediately. After a "rigorous international protocol for when you alert the public," the organizations decided not to release the details.

"In the future we will report more on things that we have deemed in the past to be routine," Binder said, noting the commission posted information February 24 about a small leak discovered February 22.

Binder dismissed a suggestion from Liberal energy critic David McGuinty that a government order gave the commission a dual mandate to include considering the need for medical isotopes.

"We have one mandate, and if you think that we are not going to shut down a facility that is unsafe, I think you are making a mistake," he said.

Related News

ev connector

Electricity Grids Can Handle Electric Vehicles Easily - They Just Need Proper Management

NEW YORK - One of the most frequent concerns you will see from electric vehicle haters is that the electricity grid can’t possibly cope with all cars becoming EVs. However, they haven’t done the math properly. The grids in most developed nations will be just fine, so long as the demand is properly management. Here’s how.

The biggest mistake the social media keyboard warriors make is the very strange assumption that all cars could be charging at once. In the UK, there are currently 32,697,408 cars according to the UK Department of Transport. The UK national grid had a capacity of…

READ MORE
nuclear

'Net Zero' Emissions Targets Not Possible Without Multiple New Nuclear Power Stations, Say Industry Leaders

READ MORE

pennsylvania electricity exports chart

EIA: Pennsylvania exports the most electricity, California imports the most from other states

READ MORE

Sheerness coal fired generating station

Alberta set to retire coal power by 2023, ahead of 2030 provincial deadline

READ MORE

stellaten-and-innergex-sign-wind-deal-with-bc-hydro

Stellat'en and Innergex Sign Wind Deal with BC Hydro

READ MORE