WAKEUP CALL FOR NUCLEAR POWER
The Ottawa Citizen - July 18, 2007
Re: Fire, spill at nuclear plant raise safety, PR concerns, July 17.
Radioactive water spilled into the Sea of Japan as a result of a serious earthquake. And I thought nuclear energy was safe and clean. This incident had better serve as a wakeup call in Ontario, and all around the world. Some risks are too big to take. Nuclear radiation might cause cancer, severe birth defects, and myriad other horrible health problems. If that isn't enough, radioactive waste material stays lethal for thousands of years.
The more nuclear capacity we build, the more likely a catastrophic accident becomes. Can't we just consume less power? Are we really so weak and selfish that with our own survival and that of our children at risk, the best plan we can put forward is to add nuclear capacity? Eventually accidents will happen.
The current Liberal government wants to reinvigorate the nuclear industry here by spending tens of billions on additional nuclear capacity and hiding the waste underground in the Canadian Shield. How can they predict the potential for a serious seismic event in this area? Don't gamble with nuclear energy. When we lose, it really is lights out.
Mark Girvan, Ottawa