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Taking aim at nuclear power

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Published On Sat Oct 2 2010 Email Print Share 18

Re: Nuclear deserves a place in Ontario’s power mix, Opinion, Sept. 28

The president of the Canadian Nuclear Association makes the claim that nuclear is clean,
but gives no facts to back it up. That could be because the facts clearly show the opposite is
true. Each year nuclear power production in Canada creates 575,000 tonnes of toxic
uranium tailings, 85,000 highly radioactive waste fuel bundles and a minimum of 840,000
tonnes of C02, with dire effects on the air we breathe and the water we drink (see Clearing
the Air about Nuclear Power, Pembina Institute).

The facts also show that nuclear power is neither reliable nor affordable. When the
Canadian Nuclear Association defends nuclear energy, it is important to realize who is
speaking: an industry lobby group seeking to keep taxpayer subsidies for nuclear power

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Editorial C

Letter writers don't believe nuclear power is a viable option for Ontario.
YVONNE BERG/TORONTO STAR

flowing. I would rather rely on information from groups of citizens and experts concerned
about the state of our environment and our health.

Rena Ginsberg, Toronto

Denise Carpenter makes a strong case against nuclear. Her article clearly shows that
nuclear in Canada is a government make-work project. The federal government makes and
subsidizes the reactors while the provincial governments buy them but do not charge their
true cost. The stranded debt in our hydro bills is a result of not paying the true cost of
nuclear.

We can’t afford nuclear. It is simply too expensive if we are to pay the true cost through our
electricity rates. It is not safe as nuclear plants emit radiation. Nuclear reactors are not
reliable as they are out of service for years at a time and coal had to be used as a Must Read
replacement. Carpenter makes her most outrageous claim when she says nuclear is
renewable.

Wolfe Erlichman, President, Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium, Godfrey, Ont.

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The debate is on: will it be nuclear or wind? Meanwhile, the Ontario government is
commissioning some two dozen private natural gas plants that don’t seem to be open for
discussion.

Here’s an idea: Bring a few dozen drilling rigs in from Alberta, fire up the steel plants in
Hamilton and put local drillers to work converting all those gas plants (and coal plants, too)
to geothermal electricity plants that are clean and green and cheaper than nuclear or wind.
While being suitable for base-load, they are also flexible for peaking, i.e., when you want it,
yet with no decommissioning worries and no fuel to buy. Follow Th

Bill Livingstone, Etobicoke

Facebook
First they said it would be too cheap to meter, and it’s turned out to be more expensive than
almost all other forms of generation. When you factor in ballooning costs of overruns,
security, decommissioning and waste, nuclear just can’t compete without massive subsidies.

Then they said it would help solve climate change. But the nuclear fuel cycle releases CO2
during mining, fuel enrichment, plant construction and decommissioning. With its high cost
and long construction time, nuclear power does not offer a viable solution to climate change.

Angela Bischoff, Greenspiration, Toronto

Repeatedly calling nuclear power “clean” – or “emission-free” as the McGuinty government

likes to do – doesn’t make it so.

The truth is that every stage of the nuclear power cycle is toxic, risky and polluting — from
the mining of uranium, to the ongoing emissions of tritium into drinking water, to the risk of
accident, to the unsolved challenge of isolating radioactive waste for thousands of years.

Before tens of billions of dollars are spent building and refurbishing nuclear reactors, we
need an open public dialogue on the future role of nuclear energy in Ontario.

Peter Tabuns, MPP, NDP Energy and Environment Critic, Queen’s Park

Nuclear power advocate Denise Carpenter calls nuclear reactors a renewable source of
energy. According to the International Energy Agency however, renewables are “derived
from natural processes that are replenished constantly” and do not include nuclear power.
The uranium that fuels reactors is finite and depletable just as fossil fuels are.

Candu reactors have been a financial disaster for Ontario and New Brunswick for the many
decades the industry has enjoyed extensive subsidies. It is time to phase it out in an orderly
way in favour of far less costly energy efficiency and clean and renewable energy sources.

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Kai Millyard, Toronto

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