[cdn-nucl-l] Pickering residents reject sirens

["Jerry Cuttler" <jerrycuttler@rogers.com>]

FYI
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Residents living near nuclear plants reject $1.5 million worth of sirens

CP Wire Tue 02 Mar 2004

TORONTO (CP) _ Sirens intended to warn Pickering, Ont., residents of a
safety risk at the nearby nuclear plant are gathering dust in a warehouse
after local politicians refused to install them, calling them Cold War
``monstrosities'' and a threat to property values.

Pickering council has said it wants no part of $1.5 million worth of sirens
and other hardware paid for by Ontario Power Generation that should have
been installed at 27 locations in Pickering and two sites in Ajax, just east
of Toronto. Nineteen sirens for Clarington, near the Darlington nuclear
station, are also in limbo.

``We believe in the need for an alerting system, but these sirens just don't
cut it,'' said Pickering Coun. Kevin Ashe. ``We have asked them to go back
to the drawing board and come up with a better way to notify residents of
any imminent danger from the nuclear plant.''

An alert system for homes near the plant is required under the provincial
nuclear emergency plan and is a key point mentioned in the recent renewal
hearings for the operating licences at the Pickering generating station.

Coun. Maurice Brenner said the proposed new emergency alert system, which
also includes a ``black box radio'' for every home within three kilometres
of the plant, is ``draconian'' and ``a threat to local property values.''

Brenner said local citizens would be ``absolutely horrified'' if they found
out one of these ``Cold War-era sirens'' was going to be installed in front
of their home.

He said the sirens proved to be ``like something you see in old movies about
wartime prisoner of war camps. I don't think anyone would want these
monstrosities in their front yard.''

(Toronto Star)