Submission for CNSC hearings Jun. 10, 2021 on behalf of Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) submitted a statement to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) opposing the renewal of Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) site licence for the Darlington New Nuclear Project (DNNP) site. CAPE argues that granting a licence before a specific reactor type is chosen prevents public oversight and ignores the risks associated with placing nuclear facilities in densely populated areas near the Great Lakes.

• CAPE argues that the Darlington New Nuclear Project (DNNP) site is inappropriately located because Ontario placed nuclear reactors in the country's most densely populated region and on the world's largest body of fresh water, creating "extraordinary risk to health and safety" for Canadians and Americans who rely on the Great Lakes for drinking water.
• The submission contends that OPG cannot claim there is no "unreasonable risk to the public, personnel or environment" because no functioning Small Modular Reactor (SMR) currently exists worldwide, meaning there is no historical data to assess the risks of the proposed models.
• CAPE asserts that the 2009 site licence application is obsolete because it does not account for current or projected changes in population, traffic flow, and the increasing frequency and severity of weather disasters caused by climate change through the 2050s.
• The document highlights a lack of transparency regarding emergency preparedness, noting that the Provincial Nuclear Emergency Response Plan (PNERP) Technical Study from the Office of the Fire Marshall and Emergency Management (OFMEM) has not been released to the public despite requests since 2019.
• CAPE recommends that the CNSC deny the licence renewal until OPG selects a specific reactor, provides an updated site licence application replacing the 2009 version, and the PNERP Technical Study is made public, specifically addressing the provision of alternative drinking water if Lake Ontario is contaminated.

APA

Vakil, C. (2021). Submission for CNSC hearings Jun. 10, 2021 on behalf of Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Submission-for-CNSC-hearings-Jun.pdf#new_tab

Chicago

Vakil, Cathy. Submission for CNSC hearings Jun. 10, 2021 on behalf of Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, 2021. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Submission-for-CNSC-hearings-Jun.pdf#new_tab.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Vakil |first1=Cathy |title=Submission for CNSC hearings Jun. 10, 2021 on behalf of Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |publisher=Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |date=10 June 2021 |url=https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Submission-for-CNSC-hearings-Jun.pdf#new_tab |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{vakil2021submission, author = {Vakil, Cathy}, title = {{Submission for CNSC hearings Jun. 10, 2021 on behalf of Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}}, publisher = {Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}, year = {2021}, month = jun, url = {https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Submission-for-CNSC-hearings-Jun.pdf#new_tab}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }