Nuclear roulette

Did you know that Canadians are more likely to be a casualty of a nuclear accident than to win the lottery? I’m of course referring to the nuclear reactor at Chalk River, Ontario. Its safety has been criticized by Linda Keen, the former president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). According to Ms. Keen, the 50-year-old nuclear facility poses serious safety risks for both citizens and the environment. In fact, the risk of an accident stands at one in a thousand, while international safety standards stipulate that the probability should be one in a million.

Faced with this unacceptable situation, Ms. Keen ordered the nuclear station to be shut down last November, to give the public-owned Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL) the time to implement the measures required to upgrade the facility. Adding insult to injury, the AECL actually lied to the CNSC in 2005, when it told the agency that the repairs had already been done.

Chalk River is the world’s largest producer of nuclear isotopes, which are used for medical screening tests and cancer treatments. The station provides two-thirds of the world’s medical isotopes, making it a highly lucrative business. To justify reopening the reactor, the Harper government used false arguments, claiming that a shortage of isotopes represented a serious threat to patient health. If health was actually the issue here, the government would not have waited 19 days after Chalk River was shut down to contact other world suppliers of isotopes to meet production needs.

I’m at a loss to say which part of this story is most absurd. Is it the fact that a public-owned corporation has been putting at risk the lives of citizens for over two years by providing false information? Or is it that the Harper government decided to introduce special legislation to overturn the CNSC’s decision and have the station reopened to avoid losing clients? Or perhaps it’s the part where Ms. Keen was fired by the Conservatives for having refused to restart Chalk River?

Once again, the Harper government has chosen to put the economy ahead of health and the environment.