Tritium leak into drinking H2O supply

There's been a leak of 73,000 litres (size of average pool) of Tritium into Lake ON (source of drinking water for 6 million of us in Toronto) from the Pickering Nuclear Power Plant - due to a failed pump seal.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/03/16/pickering-nuclear-leak.html

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario/regulator-reports-water-leak-at-pickering-nuclear-plant/article1944271/

Tritium is a radioactive form (isotope) of hydrogen. By mixing tritium with a chemical that emits light in the presence of radiation, a phosphor, a continuous light source is made (as those found on watch dials). The radioactive decay product of tritium cannot penetrate the outer layer of human skin. The main hazard associated with tritium is internal exposure from inhalation or ingestion. http://www.physics.isu.edu/radinf/tritium.htm

Ontario’s current Standard of 7,000 Becquerels per Litre (Bq/L) for Tritium in Drinking Water was adopted from Health Canada’s 1995 Canadian Drinking Water Quality Guidelines, and was made an enforceable Maximum Acceptable Concentration (MAC) in 2003 via Ontario Regulation 169/03 (Ontario Drinking Water Quality Standards).

http://www.odwac.gov.on.ca/standards_review/tritium/tritium.htm

The United States standard is: 740 Bq/L (US Safe Drinking Water Act).

For years Kara and I lived near Rocky Flats (nuclear weapons production plant – DOE & Dow Chemical, Rockwell Intl) before and during its cleanup. One of my former parishioners worked as part of the clean up effort of nuclear waste & by-products. Various contaminant incidents occurred over the decades (leaks of PCB, chromic acid, dioxin CCL4, beryllium, plutonium, actinide, and tritium).

In other words, we are no strangers to such incidents. Here's what I've learned. When you've lived near Rocky Flats you take no corporation (e.g., Dow Chemical & Rockwell) or government agency (DOE) at their word. Their job is to put a positive spin on the situation no matter what. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Flats_Plant

Happy St. Patrick's Day? Perhaps today I ought to shower in Guinness.

Working & Living next to nuclear power plants

The tragedy of the earthquake & tsunami in Japan is devastating. Our prayers are with the people now and into the months and years ahead. Adding to this situation are the problems with the nuclear power plant - not so much damage by the quake but the tsunami - with explosions and possible loss of containment (1st, secondary, et al). The health and environmental concerns are considerable and I empathize with the tens of thousands being evacuated to a "safer distance.".
While governments tout and support the future of nuclear energy there still exist significant issues.
If like me you work next to & live by a CANDU or perhaps a BWR or ABWR, full containment is theoretical but not always realistic. A vast array of factors can reduce the probability of containment in the event of an accident. For example, the quality of the cement housings, if found to be substandard in initial construction and/or refurbishing, can lead to cracks with potential exposure risks (reactor, turbine and vacuum buildings). Problems with fuel rods, steel tensile strength/, piping systems, shutoff valve systems, metal fatigue, computer problems, human error are all significant variables. When a number of these are added together safety diminishes considerably. The lack of reprocessing and breeder reactors coupled with waste storage and 10,000 year 1/2 life of spent fuel are additional environmental/health concerns.
Economically speaking cost overruns (almost always occur) with construction/refurbishing, decommissioning costs, etc., are substantial. In addition, nuclear power is tied into the central grid system which exhibits a host of inefficiencies as compared to a non-centralized system - which can be accessed through alternative energy sources for instance.
While giving off low carbon emissions, nuclear continues to be fraught with health and environmental quandaries.
This just scratches the surface of the inherent predicament of current and future nuclear power generation (even with SFR's and the like). Say what you will, I don't have to go to the local pharmacy to pick up iodine pills (as I do now with the CANDU) in order to protect against a future solar or wind "power plant accident" or have to display pamphlets on "what to do in case of a nuclear emergency" as I do now at church.

http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2011-02/chocolate-mission

http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2011-02/chocolate-mission

For those of you who love chocolate but not the bitter aftertaste of exploiting children and adults, organic, Fair-trade chocolate is the way to go. Here is another example of how everyone can win in the global economy when we follow Micah 6:8 +_+