The CEO of Bruce Power says no employees are exceeding limits of radiation, after an accidental exposure last November.
Today’s Globe and Mail reports that two employees are over the limit, but Duncan Hawthorne says that is an inaccurate number.
He says back in February, Bruce Power officials were very conservative in their estimates, and believed there to be a potential that two employees were affected.
But at a hearing with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission this past Monday , Hawthorne reported that testing had been finalized and no workers are over the limit.
Hawthorne says to call it a “serious safety breach” is “nonsense.”
Hawthorne says since February’s tests, they’ve started testing other staff who were outside the high-risk group.
He says the Safety Commission has actually commended Bruce Power for this proactive approach, and has recommended all nuclear facilities across the country implement this practice as well.
The issue arose November 26th of 2009, when routine air samples taken at Reactor No. 1 detected elevated levels of radiation.
In all, 195 Bruce Power workers have been tested to ensure nobody is over the regulatory limit of 50 millisieverts of radiation per year, which is the equivalent of having 500 chest x-rays taken.
