According to internet survey workbook, the people living near coal-fired power plants exposes to 10 times more radiation than from a nuclear reactor.
Mel Knight, Alberta energy minister said the government is simply presenting Albertans with the facts they need to make an informed decision on nuclear power.
Let me make this perfectly clear, we are not selling any option, Knight said. If that happens to be a fact, it’s a fact.
As per the survey, a section comparing the safety of nuclear power versus coal which states, the increased amount from natural radioactivity in coal is 10 times higher than that from living next to a nuclear power plant.
Kevin Taft, liberal energy critic, said the workbook is clearly slanted to sell the public on nuclear energy, which has been an costly choice in other parts of the world.
Taft said This reads like a promotional brochure for the nuclear industry.
They don’t mention cost overruns and the staggering public liability of nuclear plants, Taft said. I think the public is going to see right through this.
According to survey workbook, Alberta presently gets about two-thirds of its power from coal, but adds coal releases more carbon dioxide than other fossil fuels.
The workbook also says nuclear power has attracted new interest because it does not emit carbon dioxide during operation.
The survey workbook also mentions that there are no permanent storage facilities for nuclear waste in Canada.
The internet survey has 31 questions, including one which asks whether the province should encourage or oppose nuclear power projects or consider them on a case-by-case basis.
The survey also questions people to say how important carbon dioxide emissions are in the consideration of nuclear power as an energy option.
I think what it does as much as anything else is gives factual information relative to the generation of nuclear as it exists in other locations, said Knight. And as it may or may not fit into Alberta’s generating base.
