My favourite part of this article is where it says, "In Pickering, local opposition to the 27 planned sirens has been strong in the Bay Ridges and West Shore communities, where residents feel the sirens would lower property values and possibly create panic if they ever sounded." I thought that if a nuclear plant's siren goes off it's supposed to create panic, like "get the hell out of here!" panic. I think that having property near a nuclear facility that has no warning system would drive down your property values more than the sirens would. I'm writing an essay on the Bhopal Union Carbide Gas Disaster and if they had had a siren and had educated the local residents as to how to react in the case of emergency then thousands of lives would have been spared and thousands more would have their vision today. I was reading last week about a chemical plant in South America where they had 26 wind socks up on all sides of the plant and in the case of an explosion or leak they had an alarm siren that would go off and the local residents were instructed to determine the wind direction and run into the wind, it seems horrible to be sure, but it also seems realistic. Is it sad that we in a first world country with a supposedly state of the art nuclear facility and they don't even have a simple, common sense plan in place like a siren and wind socks. I guess if the local residents don't want it then maybe they will be protected from the toxic fumes by the fact that they have their heads up their asses.
Feb. 7, 2005. 01:00 AM
Nuclear siren plan debated
Pressure on in Durham Region Air-raid style called too noisy
STAN JOSEY
STAFF REPORTER
The pressure is on Durham Region politicians to come up with an emergency alerting system for the Pickering nuclear generating station as the licence renewal hearing for its "A" station looms later this month.
Forty-six air-raid-style sirens, purchased for $1.6 million more than a year ago for Pickering and Darlington nuclear stations, are gathering dust in an Ajax warehouse while Pickering politicians try to come up with an alternative that doesn't make as much noise.
"There is some urgency to get this issue resolved quickly," said Clarington Mayor John Mutton. "The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has asked why we do not have a siren alerting system in place."
In Pickering, local opposition to the 27 planned sirens has been strong in the Bay Ridges and West Shore communities, where residents feel the sirens would lower property values and possibly create panic if they ever sounded.
"I'm 100 per cent against them (sirens)," said Doug Dickerson, city councillor for the area. "They are archaic, World War II-vintage, like those used during the air raids over London," he said in an interview.
A viable system is required by Ontario's and Durham's nuclear emergency plans and could be an issue when the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission meets Feb. 23 for the first stage of the plant's licence renewal.
The Town of Ajax has already given the okay to install two of the sirens on its border with Pickering, and Clarington has agreed to 17 on mostly agricultural land around the Darlington station.
Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan said his city expects to have an alternative alerting plan to offer before the end of the month.
"If we do, it will be a smaller system and less intrusive," he said in an interview.
Pickering hired its own engineering firm to do a "peer review" of the regional alerting plan: the first draft of that document is being kept under wraps while the city studies it.
At the last safety commission hearing on the Pickering station in February 2003, commission president Linda Keene asked Ontario Power Generation to come up with a "complete plan" for sirens to warn as many as 200,000 people of any accident requiring evacuation. Ontario Power Generation, which is picking up the sirens' cost, says it is up to local and provincial emergency planners to come up with an effective system.
"We will support whatever design they come up with for the region," said OPG spokesperson John Earl.
Forty-six air-raid-style sirens, purchased for $1.6 million more than a year ago for Pickering and Darlington nuclear stations, are gathering dust in an Ajax warehouse while Pickering politicians try to come up with an alternative that doesn't make as much noise.
"There is some urgency to get this issue resolved quickly," said Clarington Mayor John Mutton. "The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has asked why we do not have a siren alerting system in place."
In Pickering, local opposition to the 27 planned sirens has been strong in the Bay Ridges and West Shore communities, where residents feel the sirens would lower property values and possibly create panic if they ever sounded.
"I'm 100 per cent against them (sirens)," said Doug Dickerson, city councillor for the area. "They are archaic, World War II-vintage, like those used during the air raids over London," he said in an interview.
A viable system is required by Ontario's and Durham's nuclear emergency plans and could be an issue when the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission meets Feb. 23 for the first stage of the plant's licence renewal.
The Town of Ajax has already given the okay to install two of the sirens on its border with Pickering, and Clarington has agreed to 17 on mostly agricultural land around the Darlington station.
Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan said his city expects to have an alternative alerting plan to offer before the end of the month.
"If we do, it will be a smaller system and less intrusive," he said in an interview.
Pickering hired its own engineering firm to do a "peer review" of the regional alerting plan: the first draft of that document is being kept under wraps while the city studies it.
At the last safety commission hearing on the Pickering station in February 2003, commission president Linda Keene asked Ontario Power Generation to come up with a "complete plan" for sirens to warn as many as 200,000 people of any accident requiring evacuation. Ontario Power Generation, which is picking up the sirens' cost, says it is up to local and provincial emergency planners to come up with an effective system.
"We will support whatever design they come up with for the region," said OPG spokesperson John Earl.
1 comment:
Well said
Stan Josey
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