Fact: Natural uranium is extremely dangerous when inhaled, ingested or when it gets into a cut because it emits alpha particles. Alpha particles are the Mack trucks of the radiation world. They are big and can cause severe damage - especially if the source of alpha particles is inside a body. This is why there’s so much concern around uranium dust from BWXT. Neighbours of this plant will be inhaling and ingesting uranium particles that emit alpha radiation.

Fact: The scientific consensus is that there is no safe dose of radiation. At low doses, radiation can cause damage (like mutation) to cellular DNA. When cells are actively dividing, there’s increased risk for damage. Kids and pregnant women are of particular concern when it comes to radiation exposure. They have billions of cells that are actively dividing - and each division cycle is vulnerable to damage by radiation.

Fact: Uranium dust that is inhaled or ingested can release massive amounts of radiation. It has been calculated by the Uranium Medical Research Centre that a single 2.5 micron (2.5 millionths of a metre) dust grain releases a radiation dose 200 times the legal dose limit for a Canadian citizen. This is why CARN is concerned about BWXT’s intentions in Peterborough.

Fact: Pickering nuclear power station is scheduled to close in 2024. With decreased demand for pellets and bundles, Peterborough residents can expect BWXT to search for operational efficiencies in their Peterborough and Toronto operations.

Fact: The Toronto BWXT pelleting site is located in an area that is changing from primarily industrial to residential. It can be expected that with increased residential density, there will be increased opposition to BWXT’s operations in that city.

Fact: For full operational flexibility, BWXT should also be applying to alter the Toronto license to allow for nuclear fuel bundle assembly (currently performed in Peterborough) - this has not occurred. Residents of Peterborough should fully expect that license approval will result in pelleting operations in Peterborough.

Fact: A study conducted on GE nuclear workers (the predecessor to GE-Hitachi and BWXT) found that 44% of workers had reduced monocyte counts. The counts were 15-20 times lower than a sample of healthy men and women. The evidence confirmed the hypothesis that absorbed radioactive particles had detectable effects on monocytes (white blood cells ) in workers at the GE plant on Monaghan Avenue.

Fact: “These recommendations were ignored resulting in excessive Be air contamination of 41.5 ug/m³ in 1965, demonstrating GE’s callous disregard for the health of workers and its poor safety culture.” (The current Canada Labour Code occupational exposure limit is .05 ug/m³.) While these extremely high beryllium results occurred many years ago, GE, GE-Hitachi and BWXT have never made any claims other than that they adhered to the most stringent safety standards.

Fact: In many other cases, the Report of the Advisory Committee on Retrospective Exposure Profiling of the Production Processes at the General Electric Production Facility Peterborough, Ontario 1945-2000 cites poor safety standards and resultant diseases such as cancer. The documentary “Town Of Widows” exposes malfeasance and indicates that safety standards were not a priority in corporate culture. Current claims of safety must be viewed with healthy scepticism as there is a continuum of corporate culture from GE to BWXT.