Evidence of meeting #50 for Natural Resources in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was plant.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
The Gentilly-2 refurbishment will not be built to any standard above 7.5 or 8. Do we know what the standard is going to be for the Gentilly-2 construction?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Bruce Power
For the existing plant, you mean?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Bruce Power
We're not changing the regulatory requirement for earthquakes as part of the refurbishment of G-2.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Bruce Power
It already has seismic qualification, as do all of our plants.
NDP
President and Chief Executive Officer, Bruce Power
I couldn't quote that; the regulator could tell you. I know what it is for our plants, but I couldn't tell you what it is for theirs.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Bruce Power
Well, there isn't a credible design basis fault that would give you a quake larger than that. That's the issue. As I said before, the issue is what a credible design basis fault is. What is the largest quake we've seen in the region? What are the driving things? This was my point earlier about the environmental assessment.
I can tell you right now that if we have a level 9 quake, everything is going to fall down. It's all about the probability of having such a thing. You have to bound everything in life with reasonable assumptions.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
I suppose that's what the Japanese said in terms of reasonable assumptions. When they were designing those reactors, they said it was outside of a reasonable assumption to assume a 9.0 quake.
I'm not suggesting a 9.0 earthquake is going to hit Ontario or Quebec or other places where there are nuclear reactors. I guess I wonder why you don't go up to a standard of a 9.0. Does it cost a lot more? Does it make the reactor unfeasible?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Bruce Power
The reality is that it might, but I can't answer that. Everything we do is based on risk assessment. This quake that hit Japan is a one in 10,000 years quake. That was how it was determined. We can say okay, you've had one. The reality is that the plant withstood the earthquake. It was actually the tsunami that was the problem.
Now, perhaps there's a conversation that if you have a record earthquake, doesn't that mean you're going to have a record tsunami—and you'll have no argument from me there. But the point is you're talking about a plant that's sited in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a highly seismically active event.
While we might question their design calculations, I don't think we should draw a parallel with Canada. We've got to be reasonable. The idea that we would design for a set of circumstances that no one believes is credible—
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Sure.
Here's a question to Ms. Carpenter. You talked about full-cost accounting for nuclear power. What is the current liability limit for accidents in Canada?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Nuclear Association
Well, Mr. Cullen, you would know that it's $75 million. The industry has been advocating to increase that—
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Nuclear Association
There are several numbers. There's $630 million—
President and Chief Executive Officer, Bruce Power
As far as we're concerned, this thing has died on the order paper at least four times. If it was up to me, it would be $650 million now—
President and Chief Executive Officer, Bruce Power
—and it would have been some time ago.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
You feel that a liability limit of $650 million is a reasonable figure.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Bruce Power
The number that was advocated was $650 million. We supported it.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Current estimates out of Japan for the accident there are going to run somewhere north of $180 billion.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Bruce Power
Yes, related to the earthquake and tsunami damage, not the nuclear facility.