Chalk River Part 4
"The continuing actions of the Liberal-appointed nuclear safety commission will jeopardize the health and safety and lives of tens of thousands of Canadians," Harper said today.
The Liberals shot back.
"Attacking the regulator and taking him out of the process is going to make the problem worse," charged Deputy Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.
The shutdown has led to radioisotope shortages throughout North America and other parts of the world that have delayed diagnostic testing, therapies and surgeries involving nuclear medicine. AECL has said it is unlikely the reactor will be back to full production until mid-January.
Legislation to be introduced Tuesday will call on the CNSC, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, to reopen the reactor for 120 days. During that time, the reactor's operators will be expected to bring in the changes that CNSC has said are needed.
The proposed legislation was the topic of heated debate today, with Opposition members demanding to know whether it was safe to re-open a facility the country's nuclear watchdog has said does not meet safety standards.
"There will be no nuclear accidents," said Harper, responding to the heckles of Opposition members. "What there will be is a growing medical crisis if all members of the House don't support the legislation," he said.
The National Research Universal reactor is now 50 years old. It was supposed to have been decommissioned in 2005. But a plant designed to replace the aging facility is six years behind schedule and would not produce radioisotopes until late 2008.
The CNSC extended NRU's operating licence until the problems with the new reactors can be sorted out.
But the commission's director-general, Barclay Howden, said the licence was issued based on assurances from AECL that an emergency power system connected to cooling pumps had been installed. Safety regulators found out only last month that that those pumps were not installed.
The CNSC has said several new safety standards must be met before the reactor can be reopened. AECL employees are working around the clock and are in the process of completing the installation of one pump and have secured all necessary components to assemble the second pump.
The company says returning the NRU reactor to service, on an interim basis, using one coolant pump with the emergency backup power connected while work is completed on the second pump will allow the "safe operation of the reactor."
The "heroic efforts" by staff means the facility could be restarted on December 20, if all went well."Within three to four days we start delivering radioisotopes and within seven days we're at full production," said AECL spokesman Dale Coffin.
The reactor might restart as soon as Wednesday if the Conservative government succeeds in pushing through emergency legislation allowing AECL to use a back-up method.
The Ontario Association of Nuclear Medicine says that this is good news for the about 50,000 Canadians and 160,000 Americans who would have their tests postponed for each month the reactor remains shut down.
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