Citizens press NB Power on nuclear safety, reliability at public meeting

Citizens had one more chance to press NB Power staff about Point Lepreau's safety and reliability as the utility continues the relicensing process for Atlantic Canada's only nuclear reactor.

Monday night marked the last of three publicmeetings as a part of NB Power's relicensing process for the nuclear reactor.

Allan Grant said he came to the meeting with several questions about the plant's operations and its safety record.

Grant, who was born and raised in St. George, said he feels the Crown corporation has done its work in making him feel safe about nuclear energy in his hometown.

"I think it's safer for the people around," said Grant.

"I think it's safer for the environment."

He left so impressed he stated he wouldn't mind seeing it expanded.

"In matter of fact I'd like to see them build another one," said Grant, who is now retired and living in St. George.

"If they build another one, the technology would be improved by 40 years and it would be safer."

The recent buzz about the possibility of an additional reactor means a few new questions for the team hosting the public meeting.

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Varied concerns about reactor

But when it comes to nuclear energy there are always plenty of varied concerns.

Paul Doucet, a communication manager for NB Power, said he understands that people will often have questions about how nuclear energy works.

"So there's a lot of questions around when we are going into an outage, or when there is going to be extra levels of traffic in the neighbourhood," he said.

"And of course we have challenging questions from folks who have questions about our technology and how well we run."

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Doucet said beyond safety, the majority of questions directed at the operation are focused around the fact the facility has been plagued with shutdowns in recent years.

"A lot of questions about those issues," said Doucet.

"People want to know about our strategy for equipment reliability and how we plan to now run predictably."

NB Power applied for the five-year licence renewal in June with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

The utility has already been involved in a January hearing with the federal regulator in Ottawa. The commission will come to the province in May to carry out the second phase of the hearing process.

NB Power has held three public information sessions about the nuclear reactor, where citizens can ask utility officials about the safety and reliability of the reactor.