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FYI - In today's Ottawa Citizen newspaper : Candu reactor's shell can withstand bombing R. L. Clarke, J. T. Rogers and D. R. Wiles Thursday, November 01, 2001 Re: Make nuclear plants a safety priority, Oct. 27. Letter-writer David H. Martin makes alarming claims about the effectiveness of a suicide bomber attacking one of the Ontario Candu nuclear generating stations. Readers should be aware of the differences between an ordinary office tower and a nuclear generating station. Candu reactors are housed in a pre-stressed or reinforced concrete outer shell to contain the consequences of any violent disruptions within that might result in escape of radioactivity. This shell (about one metre thick) would be very effective in stopping a large aircraft. (It was just such a shell that was missing in Chernobyl.) Should an attack penetrate this barrier, the reactor itself is surrounded by a reinforced concrete biological shielding as much as 1.8 metres thick. An attack would result in a safe shutdown of the reactor. Penetration of the core, with release of radioactivity, is hard to imagine. Contrary to Mr. Martin's assertion, every reactor has several independent safety systems, any one of which will shut down the reactor and leave it in a safe condition. Mr. Martin's letter seems designed more to spread alarm and play into the intentions of the terrorists than to produce reasoned reactions. However, we are confident that the Canadian regulatory agencies and reactor designers look carefully for potential weaknesses. R. L. Clarke, J. T. Rogers and D. R. Wiles, Ottawa, Carleton University professors |