What are the greatest risks in Port Hope?
The risk of a criticality accident increases with the concentration of U-235 or of plutonium. The higher the enrichment levels (i.e. the concentration of U-235), the less is the “critical mass” the amount of material needed to cause a criticality. In the case of MOX fuel, the critical mass is even smaller than for enriched uranium, and so the risk of accidental criticality is that much greater. Those closest to the accident may easily receive lethal doses of neutron radiation. Radioactive contamination may occur due to the spontaneous creation of intensely radioactive materials called “fission products” and “neutron activation products”. The criticality accident that occurred at the Tokomurai facility in Japan in 1999 resulted in radiation levels 10,000 times higher than normal two kilometres from the site of the accident. If an accident of comparable severity were to occur at Port Hope, large portions of our town could be exposed to high radiation levels. On the other hand, if massive
Related Questions
- Uranium soil concentrations at some public properties in Port Hope exceed the levels considered safe by the Canadian Council Ministers of the Environment. Are these soil concentrations hazardous?
- Has the federal government fulfilled its commitment to conduct health studies in Port Hope?
- Shouldn there be a buffer zone around the Cameco Fuel Manufacturing plant in Port Hope?
