As reported earlier this week Bruce Power is in the planning stages of shipping 16 100-tonne steam generators, taken from Units 1 and 2 last year, to Sweden for recycling.

Bruce Power spokesman John Peevers says they are simply trying to reduce their environmental footprint by recycling the units.

“We’ve worked with all the appropriate regulators - federal, provincial and municipal - to make sure everything is in place,” he says. “Now we’re awaiting approval from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). The steam generators are well within regulatory levels for transportation, but we need to get approval from the CNSC.”

More than 50 non-governmental organizations from a dozen countries have signed a resolution opposing the plan, including he Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility. Peevers understand there are concerns.

“Certainly, we respect people’s rights to express their opinion,” he says. “What we’re trying to do is reduce our environmental footprint by recycling these steam generators. To us the plan makes a lot of sense.”

He says radiation is widely misunderstood by the public. “People don’t always realize that it’s everywhere. In Kincardine and surrounding the Bruce site, people have a good understanding of radiation. We’re trying to explain this in context so it’s not blown out of proportion.”