The Canadian government, which has been lackadaisical about taking steps towards fighting climate change, is increasingly looking at Small Modular Reactors (SMR) as a way to quickly reduce emissions. A new climate plan is encouraging a rapid transition to help keep Canada aligned with the climate goals set for the Paris Agreement.

In the rush to adopt new unproven technology, methods that already work towards achieving our goals, such as solar panels and windmills, they are not getting the same attention. To help sell the promise, they toss around catchphrases of how safe it will be, how quickly it will work and how beneficial it will be to remote communities who power their generators by diesel. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Art MacKay, a biologist, developer, artist, speaker and writer from New Brunswick, said: “With more nuclear expansion being planned, everyone should be aware of the huge number of accidents that have taken place yearly. Just so everyone is aware! From 1942 to 2015 he lists several accidents.

1962 – 2015 – RTG’s; 9 Deadly Pyrophoric Plutonium Reactor Containing Satellites Exploded, Melted And/Or Burned Up On Reentry.

1942 – Leipzig, Germany, L-IV Atomic Pile Melts Down

1940-1943 – Chicago Pile I – First US Nuclear Plant Meltdown? – Nuclear Reactor Buried In Woods, Argonne Labs, Cook County Illinois, Red Gate Woods, Radioactive Waste Secretly Dumped Into 2 Mile Creek And Well

1952 – Chalk River, Ontario, Canada, NRX Reactor Melted Down

1952 – Chalk River, Ontario Canada – NRU Chalk River Nuclear Reactor Meltdown

1954 – US Borax 1 – 5 Reactors Melted Down And Blown Up, 100% On Purpose

1955 – US EBR – Experimental Breeder Reactor Melts Down

1957 – UK Sellafield, Cumbria – Windscale Sellafield: Biggest Covered Up UK Nuclear Disaster

1957 – Ozyorsk, Russia – Mayak Nuclear Waste Reprocessing Center Disaster And Coverup

1958 – US National Reactor Testing Station, HRTE Nuclear Reactor Assembly Melted Down

1950’s – Santa Susana Sodium Reactor Near Los Angeles California, In Simi Valley; 3-4 Nuclear Plant Reactor Meltdowns Completely Covered Up, 400 Times Worse Than Three Mile Island, Radioactive Poison Plutonium, Cesium, Strontium Released Over LA

1960 – US Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania – Westinghouse Waltz Mill Test Reactor Melts Down

1961 – SMR – Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Meltdown And Explosion SL-1 – Idaho, United States, Another SMR Melts Down In Lucens Switzerland; MOX Or Thorium Fueled Small Modular Nuclear Reactors Too Dangerous And Emit Toxic Radiation

1962 – 2015 – RTG’s; 9 Deadly Radioactive Plutonium Reactor Containing Satellites Exploded, Melted And/Or Burned Up On Reentry – Radioactive Heavy Metal Poison Dust Breathed In By Everyone On The Planet, 1 Microgram Is Enough To Kill A Person – 79 Nuclear Reactors Orbiting Earth

1964 – SMR – Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Meltdown And Explosion SL-1 – Idaho, United States, Another SMR Melts Down In Lucens Switzerland; MOX Or Thorium Fueled Small Modular Nuclear Reactors Too Dangerous And Emit Toxic Radiation

1965 – USA, Los Alamos; NERVA, Nuclear Reactor Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application Melted Down And Out Onto Desert Floor

Nuclear Powered Rocket Programs; Pluto, Peewee, Phoebus, Kiwi, Nerva, Prometheus, Thermal Rockets, Nuclear Propulsion, Many Nuclear Reactors Blown Up In Open Air

1964 to 1966 – US, 3 Or More SNAP Nuclear Reactors Melted Down

1966 – US, Enrico Fermi Liquid Sodium Cooled Breeder Reactor Melts Down

1966 – Soviet Nuclear Reactor Powered Icebreaker Lenin Suffers Nuclear Reactor Meltdown

1967 – Scotland, Chapelcross Nuclear Power Plant And Reprocessing Facility Melted Down

1969 – Lucens, Switzerland Reactor + 2 Plutonium Fast Breeder Reactors Melted Down In Switzerland

1969 – France, Saint-Laurent Nuclear Power Plant Melted Down

1971 – Soviet Union Kurchatov Institute – Nuclear Reactor Fuel Rod Assembly Melted Down

1977 – Jaslovské Bohunice, Czechoslovakia – A1 Nuclear Power Plant Melted Down

1970s – Armenia Metsamor Nuclear Reactor Meltdown Happened In The 1970’s But Was Completely Covered Up; Unconfirmed Report, Whistleblower Not Stepping Forward Due To Fear Of Consequences

1979 – US Harrisburg, Pennsylvania -TMI – Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant Meltdown And Radiation Release Coverup Exposed – 1 Billion Curies Released Near Harrisburg Pennsylvania, Map Of TMI Nuke Accident Cancer Epidemic, Top Secret Nuclear Industry Playbook Used After Every Disaster Revealed

1980 – 2010? New Mexico – Sandia Labs Melted Down Dozens Of Nuclear Reactors On Purpose, Then Dumped Them In Open Unlined Ditch

1980? – McMurdo Station – PM-3A NNPU Small Modular US Navy Nuclear Power Reactor – Nukey Poo, A Failed Atomic Power Plant

1980 – France, Saint-Laurent Nuclear Power Plant Melt Down Accident

1983 – Buenos Aires, Argentina, Centro Atomico Constituyentes Nuclear Reactor Melt Down

1983 – Buenos Aires Argentina – RA – 2 MTR Reactor Assembly Melted Down

1985 – US – LOFT Nuclear Reactor Melted Down On Purpose

1986 – Pripiat, Ukraine, Russia – Chernobyl Coverup Of Multiple Explosions, Denial Of 1.5 Million Heavy Metal Radioactive Poison Casualties; Russian Academy Of Sciences, UN, PSR, IPPNW Plus Forced Suicide Fuel Rod Cleanup, Nuclear Controversies Movie

1964 – 1999 Soviet Russia Experienced 13 Nuclear Reactor Meltdowns (Not Just Chernobyl)

1986 – Hamm-Uentrop, Germany – THTR 300 Experimental Reactor Meltdown, Radiation Released

1988 – Ontario, Canada – Pickering I Nuclear Reactor Melted Down

1989 – Lubmin, Germany, Greifswald Unit 5 (KGR-5) Nuclear Power Plant Melted Down

2011 – Fukushima, Japan 3+ Reactors Melted Down/Out, Japan Suffered 3 Mega Disasters, Now Suffering From 4th Mega Nuclear Disaster, USA Will Be Next

2011 – Fukushima Spent Fuel Equipment Pool #4 Contained A Full Load of MOX Plutonium Fuel; It Melted Down, Exploded, Burned and Melted Out

2011 – Fukushima; Reactors And/Or Spent Fuel Pools, Equipment Pools (SFP’s) In Buildings #5 And #6 Melted Down – Total of 7 Melt Down’s, Melt Outs, Criticality Steam Explosions; TEPCO Admits It Lied, Covered Up

Many more nuclear reactor melt downs listed here

Lists of 100+ Worst Nuclear Disasters And Radioactivity Release Incidents

Thanks again to Art MacKay for sharing this list.

The Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station in New Brunswick has leaked chemicals into the bay a few times, but authorities claim there hasn’t been any damage done. Still, we know some radioactive chemicals don’t decay as quickly as others like the Radium-226 in fracking wastewater that has a shelf life of 1,600 years. We understand this radioactive element can bioacummulate in fish and also in the bones in our bodies when we eat them. Eighty percent of it will be extracted through our bodies, but the other 20% binds with the bones in our bodies, and makes us more susceptible to cancer and other diseases.

The radiation poisoning can be detected by tests by your doctor. Interesting to note that some radiation can be measured with a geiger counter too. A lot of the Dulse we eat in Canada has been harvested from the Grand Manan Island in New Brunswick, although there are a lot of local people who like to pick their own, here in Nova Scotia. The season for harvesting Dulse is from about June 1st to November 1st. It can then be held and sold throughout the winter and spring.

In an article online titled Gov’t: Radioactive iodine detected in 6 seaweed samples by South Korea — Concerns over Fukushima contamination after Tepco admits plant is leaking into ocean we can scroll down past the article a view the comments. A couple of these gentleman tested their Dulse for radioactivity using a gieger counter and were alarmed at the results. One of them has this to say:

“How crazy is the timing of this headline. I’ve been waiting since yesterday to share something which I discovered only yesterday! I have some dulse powder from an online store and also a PRM-9000. I didn’t buy this Geiger to test food samples, but my curiosity had me scanning everything in my house, from handpainted ceramic nicknacks to toilets and sinks, and floor tiles. I figured why not test something that comes from the marine environment. I went over to my glass jar of Canadian dulse which was purchased earlier this year, and I got no click activity. I opened the glass lid and wow! With a background reading of 21 CPM, a sample of this dulse on a non-radioactive plate read as high as 260 CPM, something I haven’t seen this Geiger demonstrate yet. To my surprise, the 0.5mR/hr alarm I had set went off as the sample went over 200 CPM. I wanted to see if these were alpha particles, so I put the sample in a 2-mil ziplock bag and tested again. I was still getting up to around 238 CPM. One sheet of 20lb. copy paper between the bagged sample and the Geiger-Mueller tube still showed up to 222 CPM. After ten sheets of paper I was getting around 146 CPM. It took 36 total sheets to fully block the readings and get back down to the background level. If I test a bagged sample and put my hand between it and the tube, I get no activity, so these aren’t gamma particles; they are some alpha and mostly beta.

I’d like to know if this seems to be too “hot”?”

Since Fukushima contamination is known to be washing onto the west coast, one could assume that this isn’t likely the case on the east coast. The probability of contamination could likely be a result of the power plant leaks, which can make one speculate as to the possible contamination washing in with the tidal currents to our section of the bay in Nova Scotia.

Knowing the that the shelf-life of radioactive properties can be extended into hundreds of years, it isn’t a comforting thought. Especially when you consider Nova Scotia may add to these already existing contaminants with fracking wastewater. Perhaps we’re safe from this existing radioactivity? After all, no one has confirmed any excess radioactivity in the bay… have they?

There hasn’t been any official confirmation to my knowledge but then I ran across a student at Dalhousie University who has published a map, for a project, online — who was also wielding a Geiger counter. Map created in 2015

Some advocates of SMRs are touting thorium reactors to be new and improved and said to be safer. One would still need uranium, or plutonium, in a reactor using thorium. It doesn’t eliminate the problem of long-lived radioactive waste. It’s just as dangerous, contrary to advocates rhetoric of safety. There isn’t any safety if Canada decides to invest in small modular nuclear reactors.