Bruce Power emergency crews recently practised responding to a situation they hope never happens.
The TERP — or Transportation Emergency Response Plan — was rehearsed on a stretch of road near Tiverton.
Ontario Power Generation owns several vehicles that transport nuclear material between the Tiverton site and other nuclear power plants, as well as the Chalk River Lab north of Ottawa.
Manager of Government Relations Ross Lamont says Bruce Power’s team has mutual aid agreements with other emergency response agencies in the area between the site and Orangeville.
In the event of a road accident involving an OPG vehicle carrying nuclear material, Bruce Power’s team will respond.
Lamont says it’s possible for any vehicle to be in an accident, but there is imaginable concern over vehicles carrying radioactive items and the need to ensure public safety.
He says it’s the Bruce Power team’s goal to quickly respond and properly interact with other emergency authorities, and that’s why the drill took place.
The Bruce Power site is home to OPG’s Western Waste Management facility, which accepts low and intermediate level nuclear waste from across Ontario.
Lamont says the Bruce Power site also handles other low-level materials such as laundry that gets done for other nuclear power plants.
