Chalk River Nuclear Site

A radioactive spill has materialized at the weathered Chalk River nuclear reactor, located west of Ottawa.

Officials say that this took place because the reactors workload had recently been amplified to meet the demand for medical isotopes, used in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

The reactor supplies 70% of the world’s medical isotopes, and a potential shutdown of the plant could leave millions of Canadians, and people the world over, suffering from cancer and heart ailments without the necessary treatments.

However, with the thought of a potential shutdown aside, the biggest issue now will be the renewed controversy over the safety of the nuclear facility, which was built in 1958.

A report issued to federal nuclear regulators shows that radioactive tritium was released into the air during the incident at the reactor on Dec. 5. Atomic Energy of Canada officials running the 51-year-old plant also reported that they were able to contain another 800 litres of contaminated water, which is now being stored in special drums.

The report states there was no threat to the health of workers at the reactor, and officials say that the tritium released into the air posed no significant danger to the surrounding environments.

Nonetheless, this is an alarming situation to many. When any citizen hears the words ‘spill’ and ‘radioactive’ in the same sentence, the breathing becomes heavy and chests get tight.

Many can recall the events of April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the former Soviet Union. In this disastrous event the forth reactor at the plant exploded, which lead to further explosions and a massive fire, sending copious amounts of highly radioactive fallout into the atmosphere and over an extensive geographic area. To date the explosion has been linked to 56 direct deaths and an estimated 4, 000 extra cancer deaths among the approximately 600, 000 most highly exposed people.

Meanwhile, after a brief shutdown, the reactor at Chalk River has continued to operate at full power, even though officials admit that they don’t know what caused the leak, and firmly believe that it could happen again. In obtained documents, it is reported that Atomic Energy took four days to report the spill to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. As well, another part of the reactor has sprung a water leak from a 2.4-inch crack in a weld. That leak has not been repaired since it was first reported more than six weeks ago. Instead, the technicians have simply pumped water into the unit in order to replace the estimated 7, 000 litres a day disgorging from the cracked seam.

Sun Media has investigated this issue thoroughly, and their communication with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has determined that “a very low level of radioactivity” can be found in the leaking water, which is being dumped into the Ottawa River.

A spokesperson for Atomic Energy says that the crack could take months to repair “but right now our schedule doesn’t allow us to do that.”

This is because the reactor is producing almost double its normal medical isotope output, due to a shutdown of the world’s largest producer in the Netherlands, which is expected to last until the spring. The result of a Chalk River shutdown, for a few weeks or months, would likely terminate 6, 000 cancer treatments a week in Canada alone.

When put into context, all of this is highly distressing, considering that no matter what course the decision process takes, lives could be spun into uncertainty.

Yes, it’s clear that those living with cancer are living in uncertainty on a daily basis; however, those living in the vicinity of the nuclear reactor are exposed to uncertainty as well. Admittedly, not nearly as severe, yet, a nuclear explosion at Chalk River would have devastating and lasting effects on the Capital and its surroundings.

From north to south, and stretching east to west, cancer levels could rise drastically if these radioactive spills are not dealt with in a timely manner and no amount of medical isotopes could save a nation if that day arrives.

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Tags: Atmomic Energy of Canada, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Chalk River, Chernobyl, medical isotopes

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 10:52 am and is filed under Canada and the World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.