A test of the Pickering Nuclear plant’s alert system that mistakenly went provincewide was “unacceptable” and will be investigated to ensure it doesn’t happen again, Solicit…

A test of the Pickering Nuclear plant’s alert system that mistakenly went provincewide was “unacceptable” and will be investigated to ensure it doesn’t happen again, Solicitor General Sylvia Jones says.
Jones said she’s asked the chief of Emergency Management Ontario to find out why one of the routine tests of the alert system — it’s conducted twice a day, every day — was actually sent out Sunday to the public, causing widespread alarm.
“There was nothing that happened at Pickering, nothing,” Jones said Monday. “Initial observations would suggest human error but I don’t want to guess. I want to know exactly how and why it happened on Sunday.”
Ontarians received an “emergency alert” just after 7 a.m. that told them of an “incident” at the Pickering Nuclear Generation Station, and advised them to tune in to local media for further information and instructions.
NDP Energy Critic Peter Tabuns said there needs to be a full and transparent investigation into the false alarm.
“What we haven’t heard is an explanation of why it took two hours to let people know that, in fact, there was not a crisis,” Tabuns said. “That’s a long time for people to be waiting to find out what’s really going on.”
Tabuns said he has heard nothing from the plant’s operator, publicly owned Ontario Power Generation, about whether anything actually happened at the facility.
An expert familiar with this sector and its protocols needs to look at what happened Sunday to ensure people have faith in the alert system, he added.
“If people lose confidence in this system, the ability to use if when there is a real emergency will be impaired,” Tabuns said. “That’s dangerous.”
Jones said she doesn’t anticipate a long, drawn-out investigation, and expects to be given assurances and recommendations at the end of the process to strengthen the alert system.
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