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Canadian government votes to reopen nuclear reactor
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Written by Editorial Staff
Wed, Dec 12 2007
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The bill required all party support to override the advice of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and restart the 50-year-old reactor, MDS Nordion, at Chalk River, Ontario. CBC News reported that witnesses and experts were called to testify in the House about safety concerns and all parties eventually voiced support for the bill, which would effectively suspend CNSC's oversight role for 120 days. The bill must still be passed by the Canadian Senate, which will likely start its debate on Wednesday. The Chalk River reactor was forced to cease operations on Nov. 18. The Canadian government has recently been pressured to reopen the government-run site, which generates two-thirds of the world's radioisotopes, because the shutdown began to cause a critical shortage of radioisotopes. Member of Parliment Omar Alghabra, Liberal representing Missuaga-Erindale, noted that resolving the crisis should not come at the cost of lowering nuclear safety standards. On the House floor, Alghabra asked "Will the minister [of natural resources] or the prime minister, for that matter, tell Canadians what will happen if there's a nuclear accident?" and the audience responded with raucous applause, CBC News reported. The Ontario Association of Nuclear Medicine has estimated that in Ontario alone, 8,000 patients each month will have their tests delayed due to the complications at Chalk River. Roughly 30,000 patients per week in Canada and 400,000 patients per week in the United States have nuclear medicine scans, according to the Canadian Society of Nuclear Medicine.
Last Updated ( Wed, Sep 24 2008 )
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