Calming Candu concerns

The Canadian Deuterium Uranium, or Candu, nuclear reactors are the only type operating in Canada.

All five of Canada’s nuclear plant operators are expected to agree to a special review of operating procedures in the wake of the nuclear plant problems in Japan.

Hydro-Quebec, NB Power, Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power and the Chalk River Laboratories facility were given until April 1 to accept the special review requested by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), Canada’s independent nuclear industry regulator.

Plant operators are to complete the internal reviews of their safety and control regulations by April 29th. The findings of the review will be made public at a later date yet to be announced.

Ramzi Jammal, the chief regulatory officer at the commission, says this review is particularly important, especially in light of events occurring in Japan.

“This is a normal practice whenever events occur in the nuclear industry,” he says.  

The review will include:
•    A re-examination of safety procedures, with a particular focus on the "defence-in-depth" principle, a strategy involving multiple barriers to prevent radioactive leaks.
•    A report on plans for short- and long-term measures to address safety gaps found in this review.
•    A review of lessons learned from the 9.0-magnitude Japan earthquake.

So far the CNSC has identified a few key lessons learned from the Japan crisis, including the importance of an effective emergency plan.

The regulator has between three and 10 inspectors stationed at each of Canada's seven nuclear power plants, and they oversee the reviews and safety procedures of the plant operators.

A nuclear defence

Canadian nuclear power plant operators must update the safety procedures for their facilities every three years, as well as whenever any of the plants are refurbished. As well, each year the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission publishes a report on the safety performance of Canada’s operating nuclear power plants. The last one was in 2009.

"We have had 30 years of faultless activity."

Amidst fears about the nuclear situation in Japan, nuclear-power advocates are trying to reassure Canadians that they have nothing to worry about.

"All Canadian nuclear power plants have been designed to withstand earthquakes, both the structures and safety systems are designed and built to seismic standards,” says Denise Carpenter, president of the Canadian Nuclear Association, a non-profit organization representing Canada’s nuclear industry.

Two weeks ago, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) notified the CNSC about an “unintended water release” into Lake Ontario at the Pickering ‘A' nuclear generating station. The leak was caused by a pump seal failure, prompting an immediate seal replacement. Rose Ahlan, a spokesperson for OPG, says the incident at Pickering was “minimal” and that there was “no effect on human health."

The CNSC later released a statement saying the risk to the environment and health is "negligible.”

Nuclear or no nuclear

Duncan Hawthorne, president and chief executive officer of Bruce Power, says the incident in Japan shouldn’t be an incentive to taint all the good work that has been done in the nuclear field.

The Pickering Nuclear Generating Station houses six of Canada's 17 active reactors.

"We have had 30 years of faultless activity. Does that mean nothing?” says Hawthorne.

Hawthorne stresses that Japan’s history of major seismic activity cannot be compared to that of Canada's.

It's in the engineering

David Lau, a professor of civil engineering at Carleton University says, “Earthquakes happen all the time, but the amount of movement in the earth is sometimes not enough to alert people.”  

Lau is also part of a team of Carleton researchers participating in a $5-million Canadian Seismic Research Network that will help identify, assess and mitigate urban earthquake risks in Canada.

He acknowledges that in terms of associated risks, some energy sources are potentially more dangerous than others, but adds that people should not rush to dismiss nuclear energy.

“Designing a nuclear power plant is not the same as designing a house,” he says. “It wasn’t the earthquake that complicated things in Japan, it was the tsunami that followed, and it is unlikely that Canada will face the same situation.”

Comparing Canada and Japan