Last night, the Canadian Senate passed Bill C-38, which mandates the startup of the NRU reactor at Chalk River, Ontario.

The bill overrides the rulings of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, and requires the reactor’s operator, Atomic Energy Canada Ltd., to restart the reactor and operate it for 120 days. This will provide a temporary solution to the problem with medical isotopes.

The reactor provides about two thirds of the radioactive isotopes used in medical diagnostic testing and therapies for the world.

I posted yesterday that this was a fascinating case of risk communications and management. Let me illustrate and blather about that a bit.

The decision to introduce the bill and restart the reactor seems to have been made using this sort of reasoning:
The worst-case scenario of an unsafe reactor operating might be some sort of catastrophic failure. But that is unlikely, even if you take the views of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission into account.

However, the nasty effects of an isotope shortage include delayed diagnosis and delayed treatments. That could mean shortened life spans, premature deaths, worsened quality of life…

These are high stakes. When you add in political gamesmanship, media that love scary stories, and corporations trying to protect their businesses and images, the stakes may not get higher, but they do get complicated.

I’ve emailed a risk expert I worked a little with some time ago in the hope that he’ll share some insights about this. In the meantime, let’s hope that the safety mechanisms in place continue to work.

Ciao,
Bob.

PS: While there’s precious little humour in this situation, I have to say that the fact that AECL’s board chair is named “Mr. Burns” makes me chuckle.

Real Burns Fake Burns

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