Shipment of Steam Generators: Let’s Put this Issue in Perspective

The nuclear industry in Canada has a long history of efficient management of its waste stream. For more than 50 years, the industry has demonstrated a strong record of identifying, cataloguing and monitoring its waste for the long term to ensure the safety of all Canadians.

Our industry has consistently looked to new technologies that allow us to reduce our environmental footprint. Bruce Power's proposal to ship 16 decommissioned steam generators to a qualified facility in Sweden for recycling of certain components is a positive step forward. It is, in fact, the right thing to do.

Although this project has attracted protest and scrutiny, I am asking your readers to put the issue into perspective.

For decades, radioactive material has been shipped through Canadian and global communities in cooperation with many industries and governments. Every day, thousands of units are shipped around the world - including smoke detectors, instruments and gauges, medical and industrial isotopes, and many other products - in ways that are strictly monitored to minimize the risk to the public or the environment. The transportation of any radioactive material is strictly regulated and has an impressive safety record spanning over several decades. No other form of transport is subject to a more stringent framework of regulation.

The transportation of the 16 steam generators, which contain low-level radioactive waste that is well within regulatory limits to ship, will be performed by qualified people with proven experience in moving heavy components. Bruce Power has been working with various experts in the practice of shipping and recycling along with governmental agencies to ensure the necessary approvals and permits are in place. This will ensure the highest safety standards will be adhered to throughout the entire recycling plan. In fact, both the CNSC and the Medical Officer of Health for Bruce Grey County have concluded that the shipment poses no risk to either people or the environment.

The best indicator of future performance is past performance. In more than fifty years, there has been no transportation incident with radiological damage to people or the environment. As we move forward, let us not forget our industry’s record and our unparalleled commitment to safety.

Bruce Power has launched a website to put the facts on the table and explain this project. I encourage your readers to visit this website at www.rightthingtodo.ca.

Bruce Power wants to do the right thing by having this metal safely reprocessed and used, rather than simply having it stored indefinitely.  This kind of responsibility should be encouraged.

Denise Carpenter
President and CEO
Canadian Nuclear Association

For more information, please contact:
Kathleen Olson
Manager, Communications and Media Relations
Canadian Nuclear Association
613-237-4262 #106
olsonk@cna.ca