THE NUCLEAR LIABILITY AND COMPENSATION ACT: Is it Appropriate for the 21st Century?

16 November 2009

A bill has been introduced into Canada’s parliament to create the Nuclear Liability and Compensation Act (NLCA), which would replace the existing Nuclear Liability Act. Both Acts pertain to civil liability for damage arising from an incident at a nuclear installation. This report assesses the proposed NLCA. In performing that task, the report focuses on the application of the NLCA to nuclear power plants (NPPs) in Canada. The report further focuses on potential incidents at NPPs where the incident involves an unplanned release of radioactive material to the environment or within a plant. Criteria used here to assess the NLCA are based upon three concepts that would play major roles in a properly-constructed 21st century policy framework for nuclear power. The concepts are: sustainability; the precautionary principle; and full accounting of costs (which includes the polluter-pays principle). This report’s assessment of the NLCA identifies significant deficiencies. Options for improving the NLCA are set forth here.

Energy [R]evolution: A sustainable Canada energy outlook

11 May 2009

Energy [R]evolution is a groundbreaking report that shows how Canada can cut global warming pollution to the levels needed to prevent the worst effects of global warming while also meeting the energy needs of a growing world and phasing out nuclear power.

There is overwhelming consensus that global warming is an unequivocal, scientifically proven reality that is caused largely by burning fossil fuels. Climate scientists have said global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2015 and then decrease rapidly after that.

The report outlines how Canada can use available technology to cut the greenhouse gas emissions from its energy sector 34 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050.

Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council commissioned the report from the German Aerospace Center.

Risks of Operating Candu 6 Nuclear Power Plants

01 December 2008

The new report commissioned by Greenpeace warns that Canada’s CANDU-6 nuclear reactor, designed by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) in the 1970s, is unsafe and too dangerous to build according to modern regulatory standards.

Better Never than Late: The Climate Fall-Out of Ontario’s Nuclear Electricity Plan

05 November 2008

Unless the McGuinty government changes its electricity strategy to one of prioritizing quick-to-deploy green energy, Ontario may fall short of meeting its greenhouse gas emission targets and drive up the risk of nuclear accidents.

Ontario's climate plan is built on a faulty foundation: the Ontario Power Authority's (OPA) proposed long-term electricity plan—which assumes the province's ageing nuclear stations will operate better than they ever have historically and that a massive nuclear construction programme will be on time and on budget.

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Scope of the Environmental Impact Statement for New Nuclear Power Plants at the Bruce Site in Ontario: Assessment of Accidents and Malfunctions

26 June 2008