Ontarians need to be…

Ontarians need to be protected from nuclear risks. Please consider:

* 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.

Thank you for hearing these concerns.

[Original Comment ID: 210274]