Ever since the Fukushima…

Ever since the Fukushima nuclear accident I have been aware that, as a citizen of Toronto, I live in close proximity to many nuclear reactors around the great lakes. I expect the provincial government of Ontario to keep the health of its citizens in mind and to meet or exceed international best practices for emergency nuclear response planning and preparedness. Nuclear accidents happen around the world, on average, every ten years and so we are fast approaching the next one.

Switzerland is committed to its citizens and is embarking on large scale planning for such an eventuality which include having plans to deal with a level 7 nuclear accident and preparing for large scale evacuations and the need to care for evacuees for large periods of time. Ontario should put plans such as these in place and include the needs of vulnerable communities such as the elderly and hospital patients in these plans. Finally, planning for major nuclear accidents also requires increasing the evacuation zones to at least 20 kms around the reactors to match real world experience and the best practices set by Switzerland.

As water is such an important resource for all the communities around the great lakes Ontario should also put in place plans to protect water drinking supplies as the number of nuclear reactors that ring the great lakes could finish the health of the water in those lakes.

In sum, Ontario, should be aware that while nuclear energy is relatively cheap, it is NOT safe, we should be phasing out the reactors as they age, and instituting more solar and wind energy.

[Original Comment ID: 210398]