Nuke

Radiation release may have affected 217

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/technology/Radiation+release+have+affected...

By Linda Nguyen, Canwest News Service February 17, 2010

At least 217 workers at the Bruce Power nuclear plant northwest
of Toronto were potentially exposed to a release of radiation last
November, possibly the largest radioactive contamination in
Canada, according to the country's national nuclear watchdog.

The estimate was revealed in a regulatory filing Tuesday in
Ottawa, ahead of a meeting scheduled later this week with board
members from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and
Bruce Power, which is the country's only private nuclear station
operator.

Initially, Bruce Power believed only 19 workers were potentially
affected by the radioactive release, but that figure jumped to
190 late last week. It's now being put at 217 people by the
commission.

And that number could still be expanded, said Bruce Power
spokesperson Steve Cannon.

"We have people who are being tested and the figure could be
more than that," he said. "We started with people who were
most directly involved in the work to see if they showed any
signs of exposure."

According to the report, the radioactive release was likely
caused by "corrosion" in the Bruce A Unit 1 reactor at the station
located on Lake Huron in Tiverton, Ont.

The alpha radiation was discovered during a restart of the
reactor by work crews on Nov. 26. Alpha radiation contamination
can cause sickness and lead to cancer risks if ingested or inhaled
in large amounts. Tests on affected workers are currently
underway.

Cannon said preliminary results show workers were only exposed
to "minimal" levels of radiation, much lower than regulatory limits.

"The tests have come back so low that some don't read or show
any exposure," he said, adding no workers have reported illness.

The company is continuing its investigation into the incident.

"Obviously, our workers are as concerned as we are," said
Cannon. "Our first concern at this company is the health and
safety of our workers. Anything unusual or unexpected that
comes up will be dealt with properly."

The Bruce A nuclear reactor continues to operate, but is currently
going through a $5.25-billion refurbishment.

The nuclear power station, which also operates a second reactor
called Bruce B, is located 250 kilometres northwest of Toronto.