Naomi Doern runs her fingers through the soft curls bouncing behind four-year-old daughter Lydia, while Rebekah, 20 months, sits perched on her knee, happily playing with her favourite doll.

As only Moms can, she’s completely focused on the needs of both children, while also maintaining an adult conversation. She weighs questions fully before responding, and answers with conviction.

“Absolutely, I feel safe raising our family in a Bruce Power community,” Naomi said, while sitting in the kitchen of her and husband Andy’s Port Elgin home. “I support nuclear energy because of the care that has gone into the environmental studies, both ongoing and in the past. There also doesn’t seem to be an information barrier, which allows people to form their own opinions.”

Naomi, a fitness instructor who stays at home to experience every first word, step, and eventually, day of school, always tries to stay well-informed of current events. She seeks information from trusted sources, and when an earthquake and resulting tsunami struck the coastline of Japan in March, crippling the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility, she immediately began educating herself.

“What happened in Fukushima was horrific and devastating, and I was greatly impressed by the communication and support Bruce Power, and Duncan Hawthorne, displayed,” she said, of the President and CEO’s numerous media and community appearances in the following days and weeks. “The information that was covered during the time of the

crisis was plentiful, and I found the questions and concerns people were asking were being answered.”

Naomi, whose husband has been a Control Technician at Bruce Power for nine years, was greatly interested in the local and national media coverage of the event, and her confidence in Bruce Power and nuclear energy was reinforced by the leadership shown as the 24-hour news cycle took the opportunity to at times misinform the public about the situation and nuclear power.

“I read newspaper interviews with Duncan and others, listened to the radio and watched TV,” said Naomi, who was also raised in a Bruce nuclear family. “I felt his messages were both informative and empathetic to those who had supportive views, as well as those who had opposing views of nuclear power.”

Although she feels most people along the Lake Huron shoreline support nuclear energy, she has had friends express concern about the Bruce site’s environmental impact and possible consequences of living so close to it, post-Fukushima.

“We have to remember that what happened at Fukushima was devastating, but it was caused by a natural disaster,” Naomi said. “Still, many cities and communities have a main industry, which supports those who live there. They all have effects on the environment and those living around it, so it’s up to the industry to take every possible action – and sometimes more than needed – to make sure it is keeping its communities safe, and I feel Bruce Power has done this for many years. It continuously adapts

to create a more positive effect on the environment and the communities it serves.”

Naomi urges her friends to come to their own conclusions by educating themselves. With a variety of outlets offering information – such as the local Visitors’ Centre – answers are readily available to enable the public to address concerns and become informed. “I educate myself to better understand the technology so that I can feel safe in my community, and I encourage everyone to do the same.”

She also feels confident about her husband’s safety on site, and that he is well-trained for his role. “Andy is always in training for something. Sometimes it can feel a little redundant, but as a parent I would rather have to tell my child something 100 times than have an accident occur.

“Our family relies on the safety of the Bruce plants for our livelihood, but more importantly to make sure that Andy comes home to us every night,” she added. “I never have any doubt that he’s going to come walking through the front door.”

Since it employs so many families in the area, Bruce Power is not only an essential part of local economies, but also our non-profit sectors, Naomi said. “It’s impressive to see what a strong presence Bruce Power has in the surrounding towns and villages through the many local groups and charities it supports.”

Naomi added she feels secure about the long-term future of Bruce Power, and its continued community engagement and environmental protection, which will provide safe energy and jobs for future generations.

Safe at homeA mom, teacher and Bruce Power employees share their stories about staying safe and keeping informed in the months since Fukushima.

Fukushima Community update

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Following the natural disaster in Japan and the subsequent event at the Fukushima nuclear facility, I promised to keep the community informed on how Bruce Power is responding, to ensure we continue to deliver safe, reliable electricity for the people of Ontario.

I know Bruce Power enjoys strong support in our surrounding communities, but since the day we were formed, over 10 years ago, I have never taken this support for granted. We live by a rule of ‘Safety First’ and it’s important to me to make every effort to share the actions we continue to take, as I have always viewed safety as a journey, not a destination.

The Bruce Power story can be summed up in one way – people taking action. In this update you will read about the work employees do every day to deliver on our Safety First value. This fundamental value isn’t just part of their jobs, it’s their responsibility to their communities and families. It’s a responsibility all at Bruce Power treat as our top priority every day.

As the operator of North America’s largest nuclear facility, we take the events in Japan very seriously and look for any opportunity to ensure better performance and to be better prepared for any situation. This is part of our Safety First culture as a business and as an industry.

Since our last update, we have continued to take action in the following key areas:

proaCtive response: Bruce Power and OPG announced in March that both utilities will work together to identify lessons learned and continue to build confidence in the safety of our nuclear facilities. We are working with other operators in Canada and the World Association of Nuclear Operators to continue to progress on this front.

regulatory response: The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has requested all nuclear licensees conduct a number of activities, including a review of lessons learned, emergency preparedness, external hazards such as earthquakes, and to report on short- and long-term plans to address any issues. We continue to meet the requests of the regulator in addition to taking our own proactive measures.

emergenCy preparedness: Over the past 10 years, we’ve developed industry-leading emergency response capabilities. Bruce Power has a strong track record in this area, as evidenced by our award-winning security team and our full complement of fire and paramedic responders directly on site. We have recently reorganized these workgroups into one integrated emergency response organization to ensure complete alignment within this key area for us.

oFF-site Capability: The company continues to carry out drills and exercises to manage any events we could be faced with, while working with Emergency Management Ontario and other stakeholders to be prepared to respond to any situation. The company is considering a number of options to create additional emergency response capability off-site.

CommuniCations: Through community updates, our staff at the Visitors’ Centre and our website, we are doing everything we can to communicate directly with people about the safe foundation our operation is based on, and the work we are doing everyday to constantly improve.

Often when I have travelled to other communities that are considering adding nuclear to their supply mix, people will ask me if I live next to a nuclear facility. They ask if I feel so safe that I am willing to have my own family living around the site. My answer is, ‘Unequivocally, yes.’ That’s not because I’m the CEO of Bruce Power, but because I personally believe in the strong safety foundation of our industry, and how we are always improving, always learning. It is with that confidence I’m proud to also be a neighbour of the Bruce site.

I hope you find this update helpful and gain some insight into the action we are taking as a company, and the people who live Safety First every day.

Regards,

Duncan Hawthorne president & Ceo

Our responsibility of Safety First

My name is Tracy Primeau, and I have been in the nuclear industry for 21 years.

As a Shift Manager at Bruce A, I am responsible for everything that occurs within the plant during my 12-hour shift. I have a lot of help in fulfilling this responsibility – every nuclear operator, maintenance worker, engineer, safety specialist and tradesperson works every day to ensure the plant and all the people who work there are safe.

We are also members of the community – we live here, we raise our families here, and we enjoy the beauty of the local area. There is no question in my mind the safety of our workers and the public is our Number 1 priority here.

Soon after the events in Japan, my friends and neighbours asked, “Could that happen at the Bruce site?” There are two main areas I always referred to in these conversations. The first is the plant design, and how it is different from that of Fukushima. Our reactors are of the CANDU design, which has a little bit of nuclear fuel protected by a lot of water, while Fukushima’s reactors use a lot of fuel protected by a small amount of water. This creates a vulnerability we just don’t have.

The second area is our shutdown systems. Fukushima only has one shutdown system. We have two independent systems which stop all nuclear reactions in the core within seconds, shutting the units down. These systems – a main one and a back-up – are linked to our normal power supply, and also to both levels of our back-up power generators. These emergency generators are ready to operate should we lose power, as was briefly the case during the blackout of 2003. At that time, our reactors continued working in a controlled and safe manner while power was restored across the province.

The Fukushima reactors withstood the massive earthquake, as per their design. What the site wasn’t prepared for was the enormous tsunami that soon

followed, flooding the electrical systems and back-up generators, making it extremely difficult to cool the fuel. Our back-up power sources are located in buildings outside the main stations, which are specifically designed to

withstand earthquakes and are built above lake level in case of extreme flooding.

We have a highly-skilled workforce, with unique knowledge and abilities. Every day, I know our workers perform at the highest level to ensure the safety of our plants, ourselves and the communities in which we live.

At the end of each day, I leave site knowing it is in safe hands.

Skilled staff keep communities safe

Candu reactor (CANadian Deuterium Uranium)

A CANDU is a Canadian-invented, pressurized heavy water nuclear reactor. The acronym refers to its deuterium-oxide (heavy water) moderator and its use of non-enriched uranium fuel. All reactors in Canada are of the CANDU design with others located in South Korea, China, Argentina, Pakistan and Romania.

seismically qualified

The Bruce stations are built to be earthquake proof by meeting or exceeding the Canadian National Building Code specifications to withstand seismic events. As part of licensing through the CNSC, Bruce Power must fulfill all technical specifications for structures and containment including its ability to hold up to earthquakes or other such natural events.

“Every day, I know our workers perform at the highest level to ensure the safety of our plants, ourselves and the communities in which we live.”

Fukushima Community update

My name is Laura Smith and I have been a Nuclear Response Team (NRT) Officer at Bruce Power for almost three years.

I was raised in Owen Sound and, after graduating from the Police Foundations course at Conestoga College, I earned a position with the nuclear security group and began my extensive training. One of the first things I learned was the history of security on the Bruce site. Prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S., our security was mostly focused on preventing theft and preparing for the possibility of protests in the area. After 9/11, it became clear we had to be prepared for the unexpected, whether that be terrorism or Mother Nature.

We now restrict public access to the site, and confirm the credentials of every person who enters each day. We also have revamped our security team to feature highly-trained men and women, who are all SWAT qualified. The size of our force is comparable to that of the cities of Chatham-Kent and Windsor, and our SWAT team is the largest in the province. We are tactical, well-organized, well-equipped and prepared to protect our workers and the surrounding communities every moment

of every day, and as proof, have won over 10 international SWAT competitions over the past five years.

But we’re not just trained in anti-terrorist activities. We are integral to the emergency preparedness plans of Bruce Power, and are trained and ready to deal with extreme weather or seismic events, no matter how improbable they may be. We have close ties to our site’s Emergency Services Team, and are poised for action should the unlikely occur. Several times a year we undergo emergency preparedness training, covering a range of real-life scenarios. Some of these intense drills are viewed and graded by our regulatory body, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission,

and if gaps in our protective services are identified, they are fixed immediately.

My colleagues and I live and raise our families in this area, yet when you see us coaching our kids’ soccer teams,

or enjoying the amazing outdoors, you probably wouldn’t expect we drive light-armoured vehicles or carry automatic weapons as part of our work.

I can honestly say this isn’t just a job for all of the members of the Nuclear Response Team. We work hard to train ourselves to protect our colleagues on site, and our families and neighbours in the surrounding communities, and we take great pride in the role we play at Bruce Power and in the continued safety of those we serve.

World class security trains for the unexpected

bruce power emergency & protective services division

To continue its industry-leading role in emergency response, Bruce Power recently amalgamated its security, emergency services, and emergency preparedness teams into one division. Considered a best practice, the integrated group enhances Bruce Power’s already impressive response capabilities and will only serve to improve its depth when responding to any situation. The division is led by Wade Lacroix, a 30-year veteran in policing and provincial emergency response.

severe accident management guidelines

Bruce Power is an industry leader in the development of severe accident management guidelines, which are a set of procedures designed to test the plant’s ability to cope with events that would be considered to be beyond what it was designed to withstand.

“Our security team continues to demonstrate it is one of the best in the world.”

– Duncan Hawthorne, President and CeO

If you know members of your community’s volunteer firefighting department, you may know a member of Bruce Power’s Emergency Services Team (EST).

My name is Scott Martyn, and not only have I proudly served as a volunteer on the Ripley-Huron Fire Department for 18 years, but I am also a nine-year veteran of the EST.

Many of my colleagues on the EST are similar – we not only enjoy being first responders as a profession, but also in a volunteer capacity in the communities in which we live. Being a volunteer firefighter helps reinforce the emergency response training we receive at work, and complements the tools we have as we prepare for any emergency that may arise on site.

The events at Fukushima, Japan, reinforced the importance of our roles on site. We understand our industry is unique and we continuously train for emergencies of all types, including personal health, nuclear and environmental. We play a major role in the site’s emergency preparedness plan, and understand our duty to maintaining the health of our staff, and the local communities, should the unlikely occur.

Our comprehensive emergency preparedness training also provides us with recommendations for improving the service we provide, and we implement these into our plans and future training scenarios.

On site, EST members are the first responders to staff health emergencies, and we also ensure the stations remain a safe place to work by eliminating fire hazards and patrolling the site 24 hours a day.

In addition, we formally train all of our non-EST staff to recognize the different types of fire hazards and how to operate fire extinguishers should they come upon an emergency situation before we arrive on the scene.

Our organization is also linked to the Nuclear Response Team, which protects the site from outside sources. Although we play different roles, the greater goal of the two organizations is to maintain the safety of the people on site and in the community.

My colleagues and I wear our uniforms with pride, and understand the trust you have put in us to ensure the safety of your family members and friends who work at Bruce Power.

First responders key to emergency preparedness

emergency preparedness

In order to be licensed in Canada, Bruce Power is required to follow CNSC regulations and have comprehensive emergency response plans in place. With well-established and practiced emergency procedures, the Bruce site is inspected regularly by CNSC personnel, and emergency drills are evaluated by CNSC teams.

What to do

Information on what to do in the event of a nuclear emergency can be found on pages 31 and 32 of the Bruce Telecom phone book under the section entitled ‘Nuclear Emergency Plan’.

Fukushima Community update

Erin Tally is a Grade 7/8 teacher at Cape Croker Elementary School, on the Nawash Unceded First Nation near Wiarton.

A recent visit to the Bruce Power Visitors’ Centre offered her class a chance to learn more about how nuclear power is generated and gave them an opportunity to reflect on the events in Japan this past March.

When Erin and her class first heard about the disaster, they focused on humanitarian issues – they were concerned about the workers and the people affected by the mitigating events.

“There were so many tragic things that happened all together,” Erin said, “It really was such an unlikely occurrence.”

For this reason, the event didn’t scare her students, but allowed them to consider what the response would be if something were to happen at the Bruce facility.

Born and raised in Lion’s Head, Erin and her family have deep roots on the Bruce Peninsula. Like so many, she also has past and present connections to the Bruce Power site. Her husband’s grandfather

helped build the Bruce B station when it was first commissioned in the 1980s, and her brother-in-law is an operator today.

When asked how she discussed the events with her students, Erin emphasized the importance of her philosophical approach to teaching. She urges and encourages her students to form their own opinions about subjects in the media and to apply a questioning attitude.

“For example, during the election, my students wanted me to tell them what party I supported and I wouldn’t tell them,” Erin said.

She feels the same about helping them understand global events, like Fukushima.

The questioning attitude she instills in the classroom helped encourage discussions on a variety of issues, with their main interest focused around radiation. These discussions motivated some students to engage in further scientific discovery – two of her 15 students launched

a science fair project on the effects of radiation on crops in the area surrounding the Fukushima plant.

Erin’s advice for her students when forming their opinions is to ask questions, do research from multiple and differing sources, and then scrutinize those sources of information for their accuracy. She hopes they will take this with them as they become contributing members of their community.

Encouraging discovery and asking questions

What is radiation?Radiation is energy that is transmitted in the form of waves or streams of particles. It is present every-where in our environment and can be described based on the effect it has on things. Typically, it is divided into two types of radiation – ionizing and non-ionizing.

Ionizing radiation comes from both natural and man-made radioactive materials such as cosmic rays, nuclear power plants, and x-ray machines. Non-ioniz-ing radiation is a lower energy radiation such as radio waves, ultraviolet rays, microwaves, and sunlight.

Erin Tally urges and encourages her students to form their own opinions about subjects in the media and to apply a questioning attitude.

Q. What iF eleCtriCal poWer supply Was lost?

In the unlikely event we were to lose all power to our plant, our emergency power supply (EPS) would be able to provide electricity to the safety systems, which enables us to control, cool and contain our fuel. The EPS is tested at least once a week to ensure it is available should we ever need it.

Q. What has bruCe poWer done in response to

the events?

Our first response to the event was focused on the workers and their families as well as those living in the communities surrounding the Fukushima plant. Through employee donations, which were matched by the company, we raised over $100,000 to send to Japan for use in the relief efforts. In the past four months, enormous efforts have been made to review, assess and test the defences we have against external hazards, and our emergency preparedness procedures and guidelines. Additionally, we have been working with our colleagues in Canada and around the world to ensure we gain knowledge to reaffirm the safe operation of our stations.

Q. in the event oF an emergenCy, Who is responsible

For maintaining publiC saFety?

If something were to happen, we would be responsible for implementing our emergency response plan and the on-site management of the situation. Outside the Bruce site, the municipal and provincial governments would have the primary responsibility for protecting the health and safety of the public and the environment. The federal government would then be responsible for supporting the province and for coordinating the national response through the Federal Emergency Response Plan. The CNSC would oversee our actions, assess the safety significance of the event, and provide information to stakeholders.

Q. hoW does bruCe poWer prepare For potential

emergenCies?

We maintain a comprehensive emergency response program, which includes an award-winning security service, a fully-equipped fire department, on-site ambulance service and an emergency response team, which operates around-the-clock. We run over 40 drills and one major emergency exercise every year, which is evaluated by our regulator, the CNSC. Every five years, we participate in a provincial nuclear emergency drill led by Emergency Measures Ontario.

When the public come to our Visitors’ Centre, staff answer questions to help them understand nuclear power generation, what happened at the Fukushima plant and how Bruce Power is poised to deal with the unthinkable.

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions at the Visitors’ Centre.

Q. hoW is nuClear poWer produCed?

Nuclear power harnesses the energy stored in atoms of uranium. The process is initiated inside a reactor vessel, where uranium atoms begin to split. The splitting of these atoms creates heat. This heat is used to boil water to create steam, which is then used to turn turbines and eventually a generator, which produces the flow of electrons or electricity.

Q. Can you explain What happened at the

Fukushima daiiChi plant aFter the earthquake?

The Fukushima plant withstood the earthquake as it was designed to do. It initially continued to maintain control over its operation with the use of its back-up power systems. About 40 minutes later, the back-up power systems were washed away by a 15-metre (49 foot) tsunami. Without power, the plant was unable to keep the fuel in its reactors cool. The fuel heated up and melted (also called a ‘meltdown’) and damaged main parts of several of the reactors and their surrounding containers before they were able to restore cooling by pumping water into the reactor buildings.

Q. What is a meltdoWn?

Even when a nuclear reactor shuts down, there is still energy inside it. When fuel rods within the reactor are not able to be cooled, the heat from the fuel continues to be released and causes the containers to break down.

Q. What Caused the explosions?

When the fuel is not being cooled, a large amount of hydrogen is produced by the uncovered fuel. In order to contain the radioactivity inside the reactor, the hydrogen needs to be vented away from it. As hydrogen is highly explosive, the planned releases caused anticipated explosions on the external building parts of several of the units.

Q. Could the same thing happen to the bruCe plant?

The CANDU reactors at Bruce Power are very different from the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. With CANDU’s different design, a lot of water protects the fuel, the reactor is not opened during refuelling, and the water that boils to steam is not radioactive, while Fukushima’s design is opposite. All of these features provide greater protection and defences to ensure safe reactor shutdown and cooling in the event of a natural or man-made emergency.

Q. What are the saFety Features oF bruCe poWer’s

Candu reaCtors?

Our CANDU reactors have dozens of unique safety features that include:

Multiple, different in design, and physically-separated sources of back-up electricity

two independent shutdown systems, which place reactors in a safe state in the event of an emergency

Larger inventories of water available to remove heat from the reactor

a vacuum building with four foot thick concrete walls designed to prevent the release of radioactive material

an emergency coolant injection system, which would continue to circulate water over the fuel to keep it from overheating

a passive convection cooling system used to keep the reactor cool in the absence of power

Q. Could an earthquake happen here?

Bruce Power’s stations are built in an area of very low seismic activity with no active or proven fault lines. An earthquake of any sizeable magnitude at our location is not plausible. That is in sharp contrast to Japan, which sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire where about 90 per cent of the world’s earthquakes occur. Even so, our stations are seismically qualified, which means they are built to withstand earthquakes without damaging the plants’ systems and infrastructure.

Q. iF a tsunami is not possible, What Would happen

iF there Was a Flood?

All Canadian nuclear power plants have been licensed on the basis of their proven ability to withstand severe flooding with no significant damage. Our site also reduces flooding risk with the use of engineered shoreline breakwaters, catch basins, berms and storm sewers.

For more information, contact us:

Bruce Power Visitors’ Centre tiverton, On 519 361 7777

info@brucepower.com www.brucepower.com

see what we are doing in the community: www.brucepower.com/community/blog

Follow us:

industry information can be found at:

CnsC (Canadian nuclear safety Commission) www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca

CandU Owners Group www.candu.org

natural resources Canada energy sector www.nrcan.gc.ca/eneene

Public safety Canada www.publicsafety.gc.ca

WanO (World association of nuclear Operators) www.wano.info

iaea (international atomic energy agency) www.iaea.org

Cna (Canadian nuclear association) www.cna.ca

Fukushima Community update

The nuclear industry is unique, says Bruce Power’s Chief Engineer. It’s unique not only because of the nature of the power generation but because of the amazing collaboration amongst its members, said Gary Newman. Gary has been integral to Bruce Power’s work with the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) since the events in Japan. “Every operator of a commercial nuclear plant in the world is a member of WANO. Information and knowledge is shared freely to ensure the safe running of plants the world over.”

Bruce Power maintains a strong relationship to WANO with CEO Duncan Hawthorne holding the position of governing board chairman of its North American centre and other employees working in its London, UK, and Atlanta offices.

WANO is just one of many organizations that highlight the global collaboration of the industry. Since March, these groups along with industry regulators, governments and all operators have quickly mobilized not only to assist their colleagues in Japan, but to immediately scrutinize, study and review their operations.

“Having seen the way in which experience and best practices are shared among the international nuclear community, I’m confident every effort is being made to apply any lessons that can be learned from the events at Fukushima,” Gary said.

Canada’s nuclear regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), has requested the five Canadian nuclear sites re-examine their safety cases, defenses against external hazards, severe accident scenarios and emergency preparedness procedures and guidelines.

Additionally, the commission has established a task force of senior subject matter experts to examine the implications of the event in relation to Canadian plants. The task force will submit an update of its findings on Aug. 10 and a final report will be issued at the end of September.

Gary is confident in Canada’s response. “Our activities and approach, and that of the Canadian nuclear industry, are consistent with those currently underway by regulators and agencies around the world.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been actively involved in both on-the-ground efforts as well as global nuclear advocacy activities. In May, it coordinated a fact-finding mission to Japan where a team of international experts visited three nuclear sites, including the Fukushima Daiichi plant. In June,

it hosted an international conference in Austria to identify lessons learned from Fukushima.

Like many who interact with colleagues from around the world, Gary echoes the industry’s hope for the future. “Canada is justifiably proud of its history of safe nuclear operations, but the recent events have reminded us all that complacency is simply not an option,” he said. “Nuclear safety is, and always will be, the primary focus of Bruce Power and the rest of the world’s operators. Knowing this, I am confident we will emerge from this period of review and reflection even safer and stronger than before.”

A collaborative international industry

Wano (World Association of Nuclear Operators)

WANO is a not-for-profit organization formed following the 1986 Chernobyl accident. Its mission is to share best practices in operation and maintenance of com-mercial nuclear generating plants and to promote the highest levels of nuclear safety.

CnsC (Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission)

The CNSC regulates the use of nuclear energy and materials to protect the health, safety and security of Canadians and the environment, and to implement Canada’s international commitments on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

“Nuclear accidents respect no borders, so an international approach to nuclear safety is essential.”

– Yukiya Amano, iaea direCtOr GeneraL

Fukushima Community update