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Ontario Power Generation has notified Canada’s federal nuclear regulator about the release of 73,000 litres of demineralized water at the Pickering A nuclear generating station.
The leak occurred at 11: 30 p.m. ET on Monday and was caused by a pump seal failure.
“The radiological risk to the environment and people’s health is negligible,” Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission said in a statement.
The nuclear regulator and Environment Canada are monitoring the situation, the statement said.
Andrew Nichols of CBC News reported about the leak on Wednesday afternoon and said he spoke to an Ontario Power Generation spokesperson who told him the risk is minimal but that such leaks are not supposed to occur.
The leak comes as the world is watching Japan’s unfolding nuclear crisis, as multiple reactors there face possible meltdowns in the wake of Friday’s earthquake and tsunami.
Pickering A is the first four reactors at the nuclear plant just east of Toronto. It went into service in 1971 and continued to operate safely until 1997, when it was placed in voluntary lay-up as part of what was then Ontario Hydro’s nuclear improvement program.
For full article visit CBC News