Chalk River Set to Spill Some More

From David Akin's blog On the Hill: While Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt is correct in saying that there has been no radio active leak into the Ottawa River (though it has leaked into the air) she is only correct in that it hasn't happened yet. It's going to though. According to documents tabled in the house (PDF) Chalk River is planning on dumping water into the river.

"In instances of handling water with tritium, which is not removed in the treatment process, concentration levels dictate whether the water will be stored or released. Releases from AECL's Waste Treatment Centre are carefully monitored and released at a controlled rate, subject to provincial and federal regulatory limits. AECL routinely monitors water in the Ottawa River for concentration of tritium. For example downstream from Chalk River Labs, at Petawawa, tritium concentrations in the Ottawa River are similar to the naturally-occurring level upstream of Chalk River, and negligible compared to the Canadian drinking water standard."

Again, the Harper Government which re-opened the plant over objections and warnings from regulators and then fired the regulators, bears full responsibility.