One in two Ontarians live…

   One in two Ontarians live near one of the 25 reactors that line the shores of the Great Lakes. With major nuclear accidents happening about once a decade globally, Ontario should be prepared to protect us in the event of a nuclear emergency.  But we’re not. The Ontario government has historically chosen not to prepare for major nuclear emergencies, and instead has just pretended major reactor accidents couldn’t happen Ontario or at neighbouring American reactors. I'm very concerned for public safety and much more needs to be done, which I have outlined below.

  The Ontario government should recognize public expectations for public safety, including putting in place measures to protect the public in the event of a Fukushima-scale accident.

  Ontario should commit meet or exceed international best practices for nuclear emergency response planning and preparedness wherever feasible.

  Post Fukushima the Ontario government must be ready to protect Ontarians in the event of a worst-case nuclear accident on the Great Lakes.

  Ontario should match the best practice set by Switzerland and put in place emergency plans to protect the public in the event of an a level 7 accident on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES).

  Switzerland is preparing plans for large-scale evacuations and the need to care for evacuees for long periods of time.  Ontario should too.

  Ontario should be able to protect drinking water supplies in the event of a nuclear accident at any of the twenty-five reactors that line the Great Lakes.

  Ontario’s nuclear emergency response plan should be reviewed regularly and transparently.

  Emergency plans need to be adapted to meet the special needs of vulnerable communities, such as the elderly or hospital patients.

  Planning for major accidents means Ontario needs to expand emergency planning areas.  Ontario should expand its evacuation zones to at least 20 km around each nuclear station to match real-world experience and the best practices set by other countries, such as Switzerland.

  Furthermore, I fully support the recommendations outlined in the report "A Call for Public Safety: Addressing Nuclear Risks on the Great Lakes" that can be accessed at this URL: http://www.cela.ca/publications/call-public-safety-addressing-nuclear-risks-great-lakes.

[Original Comment ID: 210239]