Stichting Laka

Publicatie Laka-bibliotheek:
Current politics of radiation protection in Canada (1989)

Auteur	Greenpeace
Datum	september 1989
Classificatie	3.02.0.00/16 (CANADA - ALGEMEEN)
Voorkant

1. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Doses of ionizing radiation to workers in the nuclear field are of particular concern 
at this time for two reasons: 1) both the uranium and nuclear power sectors are in 
periods of expansion, leading to a larger exposed population of workers; and, 2) 
there is a great deal of recent evidence in the international sphere which indicates 
large increases in risk estimates for cancer resulting from exposure to radiation.

While evidence for immediately lowering the 'allowable' radiation dose for workers 
in the Canadian nuclear industry is overwhelming in Greenpeace' s view, the Canadian 
radiation authorities are presently motivated by political and economic considerations 
to the detriment of working men and women and also the environment upon which 
we depend.

This submission to the Canadian Labour Congress TASKFORCE ON NUCLEAR 
ENERGY summarizes the history of dose limitations in Canada, reviews the 
international evidence indicating higher risk coefficients for cancer induction, and 
points to the current barriers to change operating in the regulatory process. It is 
suggested that the drive to open new uranium mines in western Canada, coupled with 
the desire to shield the existing Ontario uranium operations from current market 
conditions, has motivated Canadian authorities to resist the world-wide movement 
to lower dose limits, and thus to sacrifice workers' health and well-being to the 
industry's balance sheet.

Despite the wealth of credible evidence supporting the union movement’s 
demands for lower radiation dose limits, the Canadian uranium industry will 
continue to resist reform due to low uranium prices for the foreseeable future.

This has substantial implications for workers in other fields - health care, reactor 
operations, radiography - insofar as they are forced to accept an archaic health and 
safety regime for the sake of one small portion of the radiation-related sector. 
Notably, this small sector - uranium production - is heavily dominated by the 
Federal and Saskatchewan governments.

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