I call on the provincial…

I call on the provincial government to ensure nuclear emergency response plans are in place to: • Protect people from Fukushima-scale accidents;

• Protect vulnerable communities;

• Protect drinking water;

• Ensure transparency and public participation;

• Meet or exceed international best practices.

The Ontario government recently committed to run eighteen aging reactors at the Darlington, Bruce and Pickering stations well beyond their original operational lives. Ten of these aging reactors are in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) – creating risks for millions of nearby residents. Aging reactors in the United States at the Fermi, Davis-Besse, Perry, Ginna, Fitzpatrick and Nine Mile Point nuclear stations also put Ontarians and our drinking water at risk. In light of these risks, the Ontario government should protect public safety and prevent needless risks to health and society by making Ontario’s nuclear emergency plans the most robust in the world.

THE ONTARIO GOVERNMENT SHOULD:

• Use a Fukushima-scale radioactive release as the baseline “reference accident” for determining offsite protective measures, such as alerts, evacuation, and potassium iodide (KI) pre-distribution.1 • Regularly publish modelling on Fukushima-scale accidents at the Bruce, Pickering, Darlington nuclear stations to confirm the adequacy of offsite emergency response. • Expand emergency planning areas to align with the impacts of Fukushima, including at least a 20 km evacuation zone. • Ensure all municipalities within 100 km of a nuclear station, including American reactors, develop and maintain nuclear emergency response plans.

TO PROTECT VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES, ONTARIO’S NUCLEAR EMERGENCY PLANS SHOULD:

• Identify vulnerable groups, such as people with disabilities, babies, children, pregnant women, people residing in retirement homes, and hospital patients who may need to be

evacuated in the event of a Fukushima-scale accident.

• Require clear plans to assist vulnerable groups before and after evacuation, including support from health care practitioners.

• Acknowledge that operating reactors in densely populated areas like the Greater Toronto

Area (GTA) will complicate emergency response in the event of a major reactor accident and

require detailed plans for large-scale evacuation in the short-term and the accommodation

of large populations in the long-term.

• At a minimum, pre-stock potassium iodide (KI) pills in all schools within 100 km of all nuclear stations in or near Ontario.

TO PROTECT DRINKING WATER, ONTARIO’S NUCLEAR EMERGENCY PLANS SHOULD:

• Provide alternative sources of drinking water for residents whose drinking water is sourced from any of the Great Lakes on which a nuclear power plant is located.

• Ensure alternative drinking water sources are identified, and that logistical plans to supply the impacted population with these alternative sources are in place to last indefinitely.

• Model and publish Fukushima-scale accidents at nuclear stations on the Canadian and

American sides of the Great Lakes to assess impacts on drinking water supplies and

aquatic ecosystems.

TO PREVENT COMPLACENCY AND ENABLE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION,

THE ONTARIO GOVERNMENT SHOULD:

• Apply the government’s Open Government policy to nuclear emergency planning and

require detailed government information on nuclear emergency planning be available by

default, including accident modelling.

• Require regular five-year reviews and detailed consultations with the public and affected communities as to continuous improvement of both the planning basis and emergency

response measures.

TO ENSURE ONTARIANS A LEVEL OF PUBLIC SAFETY ON PAR WITH OTHER

JURISDICTIONS AND REFLECTING THE EXTREMELY HIGH POPULATION DENSITY IN THE

VICINITY OF 10 OF THE OPERATING REACTORS IN THE GREATER TORONTO AREA, THE

GOVERNMENT SHOULD:

• Require nuclear emergency response measures meet or exceed international best practices. • Regularly review and publicly report on international developments and best practices in offsite nuclear emergency planning as well as on plans to adjust and improve Ontario’s plan

to meet or exceed the best practices in other OECD jurisdictions.

[Original Comment ID: 210671]