Manner of Speaking
Joined: 09 Jan 2003
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 Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:02 am Post subject: Ottawa to Force Isotope Reactor Restart |
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The National Research Universal (NRU) nuclear reactor in Chalk River, Ontario. Built in 1957.
Ottawa to Force Isotope Reactor Restart
MPs pass emergency bill to end isotope crisis
Dec 12, 2007 04:30 AM
Bruce Campion-Smith
Ottawa Bureau Chief
OTTAWA � MPs have passed emergency federal legislation to allow the Chalk River nuclear reactor to resume production of medical isotopes, overriding the safety warnings of the country's nuclear watchdog.
In a rare session last night, MPs heard testimony in the Commons � something not done in decades � from cabinet ministers, nuclear experts and the regulator whose safety concerns had prompted the reactor shutdown last month.
After quizzing the experts for four hours, MPs voted late last night to approve the legislation, although many politicians expressed misgivings about overruling the regulator.
The bill was to be considered by the Senate today, a government official said last night. Even with the okay to restart the reactor, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. officials cautioned it could take at least a week to resume production of isotopes, crucial for many potentially lifesaving medical tests.
Politicians were forced to balance the risk of restarting a nuclear reactor flagged with safety concerns against the risk of letting the shortage of isotopes grow worse, "This cannot go on beyond the next seven to 10 days without having serious consequences for Canadians," federal Health Minister Tony Clement said last night.
The reactor provides more than half of the isotopes used in cancer and cardiovascular testing worldwide � enough for 76,000 tests a day, Clement said. "Reports were coming in from across the country, in certain provinces, supplies had become critical and severe," he said.
The law allows Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. to restart the reactor to resume production of isotopes for 120 days "only if it is satisfied that it is safe to do so."
The reactor was shut down on Nov. 18 for routine maintenance. But an inspection by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission found that safety upgrades � connecting vital cooling pumps to an emergency power supply � had not been done. That put the reactor in violation of its operating licence.
But last night, safety commission president Linda Keen told MPs that the legislation was "without precedent" and would allow Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. to become the regulator of its own reactor. "This provides significant risk not only to the reactor but to the employees and the communities that live around this reactor. You would not have the benefit of the oversight," Keen said.
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/284816 |
I hope to hell they know what they're doing. That reactor is fifty years old. |
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