Feature story - June 11, 2007
Radioactive tritium is being released into the environment at the highest rates in the world by Canada’s nuclear reactors - at rates 10 times higher than those allowed in the United States and 100 times higher than the level allowed in Europe.
Canada's CANDU nuclear reactors spew far more radiation in the form of tritium than those of other countries.
A report released by Greenpeace recommends that
pregnant women and children under the age of four should not live
within 10 kilometres of a Candu nuclear reactor in light of the
latest scientific concerns about this particular nuclear waste.
We believe that the risk posed by tritium has been
underestimated by the Canadian government, and are calling for a
review of the latest scientific evidence on the harmful effects of
tritium. We are not alone in asking questions about tritium. In
2006 the City of Toronto Medical Officer of Health called on the
Ontario government to review the health implications of allowing such high
levels of tritium in drinking water. [See http://www.toronto.ca/health/hphe/pdf/waterStandards.pdf
PDF, 136Kb]
And back in 1994, Ontario's Advisory Committee on Environmental
Standards (ACES) recommended that allowable tritium levels be
drastically reduced. The government rejected this request and sided
with Ontario Hydro, which claimed it would cost $1 billion to
reduce tritium by the amount requested.
"Scientific concerns about tritium's hazards are inadequately
recognized by Canada's nuclear regulators," says our study "Tritium Hazard Report: Pollution and Radiation Risk
from Canadian Nuclear Facilities" [PDF, 444Kb]
The Canadian government currently allows radiation levels of up
to 7000 Bequerels, or Bq per litre of water (a measure of
radiation). The 1994 ACES report recommended that allowable levels
be reduced immediately to 100Bq per litre and down to 20Bq/l by the
end of the nineties.
With the province of Ontario set to build and refurbish $46
billion worth of nuclear reactors over the next few years, it is
essential that the government set safety levels for nuclear waste
that are truly safe.
OTHER INFORMATION
A forthcoming report on tritium by the UK Government's Advisory
Group on Ionising Radiation http://www.hpa.org.uk/radiation/advisory_groups/agir/index.htm
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