Canadian-made nuclear reactor too dangerous to build, says Greenpeace

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Risks of Operating Candu 6 Nuclear Power Plants

The report, "The Risks of Operating Candu 6 Nuclear Power Plants," warns that countries hoping to buy new reactors, such as Romania, Turkey, Argentina and Jordan, would have to forgo thorough safety reviews if they were to build a CANDU-6. These include standards intended to prevent catastrophic radiation releases from terrorist attacks or accidents.

In 2006, Ontario abandoned its plan to build a new CANDU-6 because of the design changes required for the CANDU-6 to meet modern standards. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, however, is allowing CANDU-6s in New Brunswick and Quebec to be rebuilt without upgrades needed to meet international standards.

While Quebec Charest government decided to proceed with the life-extension of its Gentilly-2 this summer, Hydro-Quebec has yet to undertake the safety studies required for the refurbishment. The report warns that Canada's federal regulator has been weakening its regulatory framework to accommodate the design flaws of CANDUs. "Quebecers should be concerned that their government is spending billions on a reactor that was deemed to dangerous to build in Ontario. Gentilly-2 should be shut down" said Stensil.

The report highlights litany of problems with the CANDU-6 design:

• A flaw that contributed to the Chernobyl explosion and does not meet modern safety standards. This same design flaw contributed to the world's first nuclear accident in 1952 at AECL's Chalk River laboratories.
• Would not resist a terrorist attack and would not meet post-9/11 safety standards.
• Emergency shut-down systems are untested and unproven. Confidence in the ability of these systems to operate in accident situations is low.
• Use of natural uranium and online fueling makes it attractive to countries hoping to acquire the capacity to divert plutonium from used fuel to build atomic weapons. India used a Canadian reactor to build an atomic bomb. AECL stated last week it would like to sell additional reactors to India.

Despite public emphasis on its prototype Advanced CANDU reactor, the CANDU-6 design remains central to AECL's business plans. The Harper government is currently considering whether to privatize AECL.

The report was written by Gordon Thompson, a nuclear expert and professor at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was educated in Australia and the UK, in engineering and science, obtaining his doctorate from Oxford University in 1973.