I’ve written the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) to ask it to instruct Bruce Power CEO Duncan Hawthrone to retract a dismissive comment he made last month about a significant safety event at the Bruce “A” nuclear station.
In June, a worker at the Bruce A nuclear station was exposed to a significant dose of radiation because Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) failed to report the loss of a highly radioactive reactor component while carrying life-extension work. The worker stumbled upon the radioactive part while in the reactor vault.
Mr. Hawthorne told the Toronto Start that: "It's a bull---- story. There is no issue."
His callous statement is completely inappropriate for the CEO of Canada’s largest nuclear facility. One of his employees received a significant does of radioactivity, increasing the employee’s risk of developing cancer. What’s more, AECL, a federally owned corporation, carelessly lost a radioactive part a failed to report it, endangering employees at the Bruce nuclear station.
Carelessness at a nuclear facility should never be dismissed.
The CNSC will be discussing the issue during a meeting today in Ottawa. You can watch the proceedings here. You can read my letter here: commissionhawthorne-20-08-083