CNFA Nuclear Energy 101

EVENTS: TBA

BOOKS:

"Canada's Deadly Secret: Saskatchewan Uranium and the Global Nuclear System"
author: Dr. Jim Harding

Covering everything from public health to nuclear weapons, this study looks at the impact of uranium from the perspective of its largest producer—Saskatchewan, Canada. Addressing aboriginal rights, the environment, the spread of cancer, and global cooperation, the analysis presents an alternative vision that links energy, health, and sovereignty to a sustainable and peaceful future.

"Nuclear Power is Not the Answer"
author: Dr. Helen Caldicott

Review from Publishers Weekly
Caldecott's latest antinuke book searingly debunks the claim that the impending "nuclear power renaissance," purported by some to be the only answer to global warming, is "clean and green." She covers all the bases, from the carbon emitted in the creation of nuclear power (higher than fossil fuels if the entire process from uranium mining to waste disposal is included) to the cost of nuclear plants (too high to be viable without large government subsidies) and the health risks and possibility of accidents and terrorists' access (more than we'd like to think). She also points out that, despite proponents' assurances, we still haven't found a safe place to store the waste materials for the necessary thousands of years, and that state-of-the-art nuclear plant technology is still full of unresolved problems. Caldecott's predictable alternatives are also sensible, if austere, but those who believe that facts matter will want to read her frighteningly convincing argument.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.All rights reserved.

REPORTS & BACKGROUNDERS:

Clearing the Air: Nuclear Power and Climate Change - nuclear proponents frequently claim that nuclear power is a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission free source of energy. In reality, GHGs are released at each stage of the nuclear energy cycle. While the GHG emission profile of nuclear power looks attractive when compared with conventional fossil fuel sources, it is far from zero. Download the report [PDF].

Environmental groups and AFL release groundbreaking Green Jobs report
22 April 2009 (Edmonton) — Alberta can create more than 200,000 long-term green jobs and build a strong economic future, according to a groundbreaking report on green jobs released by two prominent environmental groups and the Alberta Federation of Labour.

Nuclear Power in Canada:
Background Information: - Key Environmental Impacts by the Pembina Institute
Download this report

Residual Risk - An account of events in nuclear power plants since the Chernobyl accident in 1986
The Greens|European Free Alliance
What happened since Chernobyl? No new major accidents, no large radioactive releases, no massive evacuations, no widespread areas of radiologically contaminated land. So everything is fine? The authors of this study quickly realized that there are no comprehensive international statistics on nuclear "events", (incidents & accidents)
Download this report: Residual Risk - (7.8MB pdf)

Sierra Club Canada: Towards a Nuclear-Free Canada
Despite over 50-years of development and government support in Canada, nuclear power continues to be plagued by cost overruns, technical problems, accidents and the ongoing problem of how to manage its legacy of high-level nuclear waste.

Who Will Pay for America's Chernobyl Roulette?
by Harvey Wasserman
As the US attempts to dig out from economic collapse, a little-known nuclear industry liability could seriously derail Obama's attempt to revive finances. read more

Global Nuclear Energy Partnership
- the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) is cooperation of those countries that share the common vision of the necessity of the expansion of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes worldwide in a safe and secure manner. It aims to accelerate development and deployment of advanced fuel cycle technologies. Canada is a signatory to this partnership and it may require Canada to become an international destination for nuclear waste storage and processing.

Nuclear Power: Good Money After Bad Risk?
Some would say that there is no point to pressing for change to Ontario's Integrated Power Supply Plan that it's a "done deal" and can no more be undone than can death and taxes.

UK Government delays nuclear power insurance plans - But lawyers have warned that the commercial insurance market will not be prepared to underwrite the risk.

Time For Renewable Energy by Ralph Nader
May 15, 2009 - The problem is that all energy sources are not created equal for purposes of efficiency, and the well being of consumers, workers, the environment and posterity. Regardless of their BTU production, different kinds of energy produce different levels of harms and benefits, short and long term.

MAJOR PROJECTS MANAGEMENT OFFICE (MPMO):
PROJECT AGREEMENT FOR THE BRUCE POWER NEW NUCLEAR POWER PLANT PROJECT AT KINCARDINE, ONTARIO
WHEREAS the Government of Canada is committed to improving the federal Environmental Assessment (EA) and Regulatory Review processes for major resource projects as a means of enabling a more effective examination and mitigation of environmental impacts, while protecting the health and safety of Canadians and promoting innovation and competitiveness within the Canadian resource industry sectors ...
Watch your tax dollars at work.

Federal Canadian Government Departments and Agencies that work with Nuclear Issues

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL)
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5P2 Tel: (613) 237-3270

AECL Chalk River Laboratories
Chalk River, Ontario Tel: (613) 584-3311

AECL Head Office
Mississauga, Ontario - Tel: (905) 823-9040

AECL Low-level Radioactive Waste Management National Office
Ottawa, Ontario
Tel: (613) 998-9442

AECL Whiteshell Laboratories
Pinawa, Manitoba Tel: (204) 753-2051

AECL Montreal
Montreal, Quebec Tel: (514) 871-1116

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Ottawa, ON Tel: (613) 995-5894

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT)
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G2 Tel: (613) 996-9134

DFAIT - Global Partnership Program (GPX)
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Ottawa, Ontario Tel: (613) 944-2536

Environment Canada
Gatineau, Quebec Tel: (613) 997-2800

Health Canada
Ottawa, Ontario Tel: (613) 957-2991

Mine Environmental Neutral Drainage Program
Canada Centre for Mineral & Energy Technology
Ottawa, Tel: (613) 992-8736

National Energy Board
Calgary, Alberta Tel: (403) 292 4800

National Research Council

Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (CISTI)
Campus Ottawa, Ontario Tel: (613) 993-1600

Natural Resources Canada
(Uranium, Nuclear Energy & Waste Management)
Ottawa, Ontario Tel: (613) 995-0947

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
Ottawa, Ontario Tel: (613) 995-5992

Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO)
Toronto, Ontario Tel: 416-934-981

CANADIAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT OPERATORS

Bruce Power Inc.
P.O. Box 1540, B32
Tiverton, Ontario N0G 2T0
Tel: (519) 361-7777

Hydro-Québec Gentilly 2 Nuclear Power Station
4900 Becancour Blvd.
Gentilly, Quebec G0X 1G0
Tel: (819) 298-2943

New Brunswick Point Lepreau Generating Station
P.O. Box 600
Lepreau, New Brunswick E5J 2S6
Tel: (506) 659-2220

Ontario Power Generation Darlington Generation Station- Information Centre
P.O. Box 4000
Bowmanville, Ontario L1C 3Z8
Tel: (905) 623-7122

Ontario Power Generation Pickering Generating Station- Information Centre
1675 Montgomery Park Rd.
Pickering, Ontario L1V 2R5
Tel: (905) 839-0465

The IAEA - International Atomic Energy Association maintains a database of "NEWS" (Nuclear Events Web-Based System)

To the IAEA, NEWS stands for Nuclear Events Web Based System. The purpose of NEWS is to provide fast, flexible and authoritative information on the occurrence of nuclear and radiological events , (accidents) that are of interest to the international community. NEWS has been established to cover all significant events in nuclear power plants, research reactors, nuclear fuel cycle facilities and occurrences involving radiation sources or the transport of radioactive material.
Visit the IAEA NEWS home page
or download this PDF doc for more information about the service:
IAEA NEWS Issue Briefs

OPINION

The Biggest Breast Cancer Risk Factor That No One Is Talking About
October 23, 2008 - The most deafening silence is about radiation, which is a 100 percent known cause of cancer. We are exposed to radiation in a variety of ways, through X-rays, CT scans and mammograms, but also by living near a nuclear power plant or having been exposed to weaponry that uses depleted uranium..

Risky political strategies could turn out the lights in Ontario
Jul 15, 2009, by Andy Frame, the Star - In announcing that the process to add two nuclear reactors to the Darlington site has been suspended, the government of Ontario reconfirmed that it has become the electric power planner for the province.

NEWS

Ontario ditched nuclear reactor plan over 26B price tag that would wipe out its energy expansion 20-year budget
The Ontario government put its nuclear power plans on hold last month because the bid from Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., the only "compliant" one received, was more than three times higher than the province expected to pay.

AECL's future in doubt as Ontario suspends nuclear power plans
Jun. 29, 2009 - “If Ontario does not order it, I think it has no prospects of sales elsewhere,” says Steve Thomas, professor of energy policy at the University of Greenwich in Britain. “I would be surprised if AECL survives, to be honest. I think Candu is really in a very weak position now.”

"Nuclear Survey Results"
Residents living near the site of the proposed nuclear reactors in the Peace River Region raised the money to survey their community to find out the level of support for the nuclear project. The following are the results from the 400 responses received to date for each of the five questions asked.

More public debate needed on nuclear plan: Alberta Catholic bishops
June 17, 2009 - Alberta's six Catholic bishops are calling for extensive public debate on nuclear power in the province because of the potential impact on future generations. A recent internet survey organized by Alberta Energy only attracted 3,500 responses, Most Reverend Richard Smith, archbishop of Edmonton, told reporters Tuesday, and public consultation needs to be more far-reaching and in-depth.

Exposure to Radiation and Health Outcomes
- PDF File, 130 Kb - This report was commissioned by the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives (Saskatchewan office) and the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses. Verbal agreement to proceed was granted on May 28, 2009 for a report to be completed by June 18, 2009. The report is to be presented to the Future of Uranium in Saskatchewan Public Consultation Process on June 23, 2009.

Bad Reactors
Rethinking your opposition to nuclear power? Rethink again.
"We concentrated so much on nuclear that we lost sight of everything else," says Oras Tynkynnen, a climate policy adviser in the Finnish prime minister’s office. "And nuclear has failed to deliver. It has turned out to be a costly gamble for Finland, and for the planet.

Ontario holds off on picking reactor builder
29th June 2009 - Ontario is delaying plans to build new reactors at the Darlington nuclear station, saying an offer from Ottawa’s Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. would cost “billions” more than the province is willing to pay and citing uncertainty over the company’s future.

Nuclear-plant workers face elevated cancer risk: report.
June 23, 2009 - SASKATOON - Those working in, and living near, nuclear-power plants - such as the one being considered for construction in Saskatchewan - are more likely than the general population to develop cancer or die from it, according to a research paper being released Tuesday.

NRC says six utilities (26 reactors) have fund shortfalls
- Wall Street Journal
CHICAGO, June 20. 2009 - The U.S.Nuclear Regulatory Commission has notified six utility companies that they have until the end of this year to explain how they will fix shortfalls in nuclear decommissioning funds, the Wall Street Journal newspaper said in its Saturday edition .The shortfalls ranged from $12 million to $204 million for each of the 26 reactors at 18 sites on the list, or one quarter of the country's reactors .

Catholic bishops join Alberta nuclear debate
June 17, 2009 -Edmonton- Call it a debate between faith and fission: Alberta's Catholic bishops have issued a joint statement urging the province to delay a decision on whether to establish nuclear reactors in the province until serious "ethical questions" are answered.

Homegrown fix found for isotope shortage
Thursday, June 11, 2009 - Researchers at Edmonton's Cross Cancer Institute and from Hamilton, Ont., have created a new radioactive drug that will help diagnose bone cancer and fractures without the need for medical isotopes from the Chalk River nuclear facility.

TERRA INFORMA CJSR NEWS
Talking about the government's nuclear survey

Subsidise nuclear power stations or they won't be built, energy giant warns UK ministers
26th May 2009 - The next generation of nuclear power stations will not be built unless the Government steps in with financial assistance, the head of the UK's biggest nuclear generator has warned.

France, Germany: A tale of two nuclear nations
May 25, 2009 - One builds new reactors as the other seeks to shut them down by Hanneke Brooymans, The Edmonton Journal

UN Security Council condemns North Korea nuclear test
The UN Security Council unanimously condemned North Korea's latest nuclear test on Monday as a clear violation of a resolution issued following Pyongyang's first atomic test in 2006.

North Korea says it conducted a nuclear test
"We have successfully conducted another nuclear test on May 25 as part of the republic's measures to strengthen its nuclear deterrent," the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported.

Isotope shortage looms as Chalk River reactor shuts down again
May 19, 2009 - A heavy-water leak was detected within the facility and AECL estimates the reactor will be out of service for more than a month while repair options are considered.

Nuclear reactors: Are they really safe?
May 19, 2009 - If you have plans to stop the construction of a nuclear reactor on Saskatchewan soil, you're about 30 years too late.
This week, the Leader-Post and Saskatoon StarPhoenix are publishing a series examining issues surrounding a nuclear reactor and what the massive project could mean for Saskatchewan.

Uranium a hot commodity as nuclear demand grows
- May 19 2009 - There are 436 nuclear power plants with a combined capacity of 370 gigawatts in operation worldwide, with another 44 plants under construction in 14 countries, according to the European Nuclear Society. The International Atomic Energy Agency projects nuclear capacity could double by 2030.

Alberta gov't Not Neutral on Nukes: NDP
May 13, 2009 - Alberta’s New Democrats are questioning the provincial government’s claimed neutral stance on approving the development of nuclear power plants when many of its senior energy bureaucrats sit on the board of a group promoting them.

'Green' oilsands products possible but expensive, study says
May 12, 2009 - and that cost could include the addition of four large nuclear power plants and around two dozen small nuclear energy facilities by 2030, under one of the scenarios painted by the Calgary-based think-tank.

An open, honest nuclear debate
May 6, 2009 - by Douglas Roche Alberta's 'public consultation' on nuclear power seems designed to quash any opposition to the plan.

Chernobyl Disaster a Lesson Not Learned in Canada
Sunday, April 26 2009 - Green Party of Canada Press Release

Green Party Policy Statement: Energy industry: no to nuclear

Alberta Talks
Online nuclear consultation begins in Alberta
Leave a comment and Vote in the Alberta talks online poll.

Ontario mayor: Don’t fear ‘the Bruce’
May 1 2009 - Lloydminster - “Because of some technological problems and some problems in Ontario in the early 90s we had some technical issues at Bruce A, and also at Pickering, and a decision was made by the government to shut Bruce A down,” he said. “It was extremely unpopular."

Nuclear plant stirs controversy
April 2009 - Meridian Booster - Not everyone is happy about the potential Bruce Power nuclear facility possibly finding a home in the area.

Uranium Consultation set in Border City (Lloydminster)
May 2009 - Lloydminster: The dates for public consultations on the Uranium Development Partnership report – including one in Lloydminster – were released Wednesday afternoon. Consultations are set for June 8 in Prince Albert, June 10 in Lloydminster and June 11 in North Battleford.

Chalk River Crisis Sired by AECL
Jan 19, 2008 - Engineering blunders, shoddy workmanship, lax quality control are real cause, nuclear experts say. The oldest nuclear research reactor in the world is still chugging away at Chalk River, already running three years beyond its scheduled retirement date to meet global demand for medical isotopes.

BREAKING NEWS ON SAFER MEDICAL ISOTOPES
- April 28, 2009 - Medical isotopes produced using photo-fission employ the use of a linear accelerator rather than a nuclear reactor; as such, the need to ship and handle highly enriched uranium is eliminated in favour of naturally occurring uranium. Visit TRIUMF (Canada's National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics).

Medical isotope production and nuclear terrorism
It may not be widely known that the manner in which medical isotopes are produced in Canada is unintentionally exacerbating the problem of nuclear terrorism.

NDP says resources minister misled public about water leak at reactor
February 25, 2009 - "We've seen radioactive material go into the Ottawa River time and again," Cullen said during question period on Wednesday. "And time and again, she gets up in the House with very, very nuanced language leaving the impression that everything is fine when it's not. "

VIDEOS, PODCASTS & DOCUMENTARIES:

"The Strangest Dream" - Clips &Podcasts

The National Film Board of Canada has released a new film called "The Strangest Dream", that focuses on Joseph Rotblat and the Pugwash group -- Nobel Peace Prize winners. Joseph Rotblat was the only scientist who resigned from the Manhattan Project when the war with Germany ended in 1944. With Hitler gone, he saw no rationale for atomic weapons. He spent the rest of his life working for nuclear disarmament and general disarmament. Watch the short clips and podcasts online.

ARTIST CITES NUCLEAR WASTE DUMPING AS CAUSE FOR PIRACY
Video interview with Somali-Canadian Hip Hop artist K’naan discussing the context of what is being called Somali “piracy.”

"THE GOSPEL OF GREEN"
The Fifth Estate - CBC

"NUCLEAR POWER - HOPE OR HOAX?"
Dr. Gordon Edwards speaks at the University of Alberta

THE CLEAN, GREEN NUCLEAR MACHINE?
October 27, 2008 - For those communities and workers that host the nuclear fuel chain -- uranium mining, milling, enrichment, energy and military use, and storage of wastes -- the label of "clean" and the notion of a "cost-effective" energy system is, simply and sadly, ludicrous. The no-emissions carbon footprint label assigned by the Nuclear Energy Institute ignores the significant environmental impact resulting from mining, transportation, processing fuel, using water as energy and coolant, and building nuclear power facilities. Cost-effective energy becomes an even more problematic label when you factor in the short-term and long-term health consequences of absorbing toxic heavy metals and the radioactive nature of these exposures, and the health care costs of treating such illness and disease. read more
By Barbara Rose Johnston, an anthropologist and senior research fellow at the Center for Political Ecology, and a member of the expert advisory group for UNESCO’s Water and Cultural Diversity Project.

COUNTING THE COSTS
Listeners Choice - CBC Radio Podcasts examine the costs of Nuclear Energy- this series originally aired in the 1980's in a radio show format, with some re-enactment components, that covered events at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, the Pickering nuclear plant's billion dollar problems, the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Russia and the immense problems associated with decommissioning old or obsolete nuclear plants. The shows are updated with current commentary.

"Three Mile Island" Pt1
Right click to Download Listener's Choice - June 6th, 2008 - Counting the Costs: Three Mile Island
[mp3 file: runs 53:31]

"Three Mile Island" Pt2
Right click to Download Listener's Choice - July 11th, 2008 - Counting the Costs: Three Mile Island, Part Two
[mp3 file: runs 56:20]

"Chalk River to Chernobyl"
Right click to Download Listener's Choice - January 30th, 2009 - Ideas - Counting the Costs, Part Three
[mp3 file: runs 55:56]

"Darlington to Decommissioning"
Right click to Download Listener's Choice - April 10th, 2009 - Ideas - Counting the Costs, Part Four
[mp3 file: runs 55:39]

Canadian Nuclear Association - Speeches and Presentations