WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29,1987, 1>AGE 7 PAGE SEVEN Exactly a year ago, the headlines of the world press were screaming about a major disaster in the Soviet Union - a nuclear power plant in the central Ukraine had exploded, thousands were dead, a huge area was devastated, and a deadly radioactive cloud was moving towards Europe. The Russians initially downplayed it - yes, there had been a malfunction but everything was under con- trol, only two people were dead and the danger was past. "Nonsen- se!", cried the Western press - instant "experts" were quoted on the devastation that must have occurred, and American spy satellites carried pictures of the smoke from the crippled reactor. In reality, of course, the truth lay in between. The initial death toll had, in fact, been only two but the radiation hazard was far greater than the Russians had originally been prepared to admit and in fact radiation continued to escape for weeks before they were able to completely entomb the crippled reactor. The tragedy at Chernobyl has many lessons for us - about nuclear energy, about technology in general about East-West relations, about the media and about ourselves. The lessons are especially relevant to this particular fragment of the globe sandwiched as we are between two huge nuclear generating plants. The reality of any technology, especially a relatively new one like nuclear energy, is that accidents will happen. Nuclear reactors still number'only a few hundred world-wide and just like the technology of automobiles or airplanes, there is a small element of trial and error in designing their safety - there will always be a minute element of risk which will only be found through experience. Still, nuclear reactors ARE a lot safer than the family car. Chernobyl has been used by a wide assortment of groups as an argument against nuclear energy. The demonstrations throughout the world this past weekend have received widespread coverage in the media. Demonstrations even took place in Russia itself, a sign of the new found openness and self-analysis that the Soviet Union is experiencing under Gorbachev. However, one of the paradoxes of technological change is that each accident makes the technology safer. After every plane crash there is an examination of the causes and so the next flight is safer and after every nuclear accident, governments and industry review their programs to ensure that the accident can never be repeated. After the Chernobyl accident, the Soviet Union invited a team of Canadian nuclear experts to assess the safety of their nuclear program. Although the Canadians did not visit Chernobyl itself, they found that similar reactors had few failsafe mechanisms in- còrporated into their design. The Soviets showed amazing openness and are in the process of adding many of the safety features that the Canadians recommended. I consider myself a dedicated environmentalist; I consider myself well-informed both scientifically and ethically on the im- pact of various environmental pollutants on the earth's ecosystem; yet I support nuclear energy. I for one feel safer after Chernobyl just as I felt safer after Three Mile Island. In both cases, important lessons were learned which will never have to be repeated. Although the Canadian industry bravely proclaimed that it couldn't have happened here, you can be sure that they rechecked all the "what if?" scenarios, just in case. The nuclear industry knows all too well that it is under the gun and it cannot afford to make mistakes if it is going to survive. The chief frustration of the nuclear industry is that it is unfairly linked with the bomb. Certainly radiation is dangerous but so is cyanide, and arsenic, and lead, and mercury, all of which are used in huge quantities in a host of industrial processes. If you handle dangerous substances properly, they need not be harmful. And all things considered the nuclear industry has a pretty good track record world-wide. Could Chernobyl have happened here? I doubt it. The Canadian Candu reactor has got a safety record second to none in the world - the design of the reactor includes a chain of failsafe responses which cuts the risk of a major catastrophe to virtually nil. (The fact that the Russians invited a Canadian team to advise them on nuclear safety was no coincidence.) There have been and will be occasional radiation leaks but the environmental damage of these leaks is far less than the flooding caused by hydro dams or the acid rain caused by thermal power plants. Those in the antinuclear lob- by will point out the accident at Deep River in the 50's but the reac- tor involved was a very small scale early prototype and the lessons of that accident were incorporated in subsequent designs. They will also point otit the failures in the pressure tubes in both the Pickering and Bruce reactors. Far from being a criticism of the in- dustry it is an example of how the industry has responded quickly to failures in the technology in order to prevent further damage. Radioactivity is a natural phenomenon. It is a form of energy which we can harness in the same way that we harness the energy in oil or gas. Just as we build furnaces to burn conventional fuels to heat our homes, we build reactors to harness the natural energy of uranium. Both furnaces and nuclear reactors are designed with failsafe devices, yet it is a safe bet that more lives are lost and more damage done by faulty furnaces than by runaway reactors. The concerns of the antinuclear lobby are real and valid. The lobby is necessary in order to keep a huge and potentially unresponsive bureaucracy on its toes. However, its advocacy of a nuclear free world fails to distinguish between the peaceful uses of atomic energy and the destructiveness of the bomb. I am sure that when man first discovered that he could harness fire that there were those who preferred the cold darkness for fear of getting bur- nt. Mankind has advanced through experimentation and in- novation. ..and by learning from their mistakes. By SCOTT FENNELL MPP ONTARIO RIDING Many of you are probably won- dering about the néw initiatives and changes our government is proposing to the National Housing Act mortgage insurance program. Under the National Housing Act, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), provides in- surance for circumstances when a borrower fails to repay the mor- tgage loan amount lent to him or her by a lender on agreed terms. These improvements, some of which will be effective as early as May 1, are being introduced to the NHA mortgage insurance program and include: a reduction in some underwriting premiums and fees; second mortgage loan insurance; the extension of NHA insurance to movable homes, and the self- sufficiency CMHC's mortgage in- surance portfolio through tighter controls and new claim prevention procedures. For purchasers, loan limits have been extended from the previous level of $80,000, to 90 percent of the first $125,000 of lending value, plus 80 per cent of the remainder for equal payment mortgages. For variable rate mortgages, the loan limit is extended to 85 per cent of the first $125,000 plus 80 per cent of the remainder. Second mortgage financing has become very popular in Canada, but interest rates have usually been higher. In t1i's regard, the program is aimed at eople who want to îm- prove their properties, but who don't want to change their first mortgage financing. The availability of insurance for second mortgages will help Canadians obtain second mor- tgages with lower borrowing costs, and will assist people who purchase properties with appealing This space has been set asiele for well-deevelopedl commenis on issues of local concern. Articles of preferably 7<00 ..10 i ords may be submitied bv anv concerned individluals whether poliician or privale citizen. Sendi to )the attention of the editor ai Box 200. Whith. Ont. L N551. or lewe ai the Free Press of- fite a 13) I rock St. N. Changes in 'Housing Act' assumable first mortgages but who require additional funds to bridge the difference between their equity and the assumable first mortgage. Because of the high-priced markets for housing, it is also intended to promote renovation instead of "trading-up" to a more expensive home. The minimum insured amount for this type of loan is $10,000. I believe these changes will benefit everyone as low down- payments and low borrowing costs make home ownership more ac- cessible to all Canadians, especially for those who are pur- chasing their first homes. This also demonstrates our commitment to a fiscally-responsible public mor- tgage loan insurance program. Predicting the Throne Speech By GEORGE ASIE DURIAM WEST MPP in the current fiscal year let that level of funding slip to the lowest level in provincial history to just By the time you read this column, under 45 per cent.. the third session of the thirty-third What concerns me and hopefully Parliament will be underway. the taxpayer, is how your hard ear- As is the custom, the session will ned tax dollar is spent. Promises of have begun with the reading of the new, grandiose programs with a speech from the Throne by Lincoln new administrative bureaucracy Alexander, Lieutenant Governor of all cost nloney. Although many feel Ontario. "it is the Government's money," I think I can safely predict the that government is you and the speech, the "Broad Brush" money is your tax dollars. It is very legislative and policy program of easy, without worrying about fiscal the Government, will be a very po- responsiblity, for Government to do sitive one announcing all kinds of- everything and try to be all things good things. This will be an election to all people. In good economic year speech. I am sure the Gover- times with a strong economy you nment, like all governments, will can get away with it but what hap- promise to do great things with pens when the economy suffers? your money. Programs once started are difficult I predict, as an example, that an to cut back or eliminate. All increased share of provincial fun- programs should be evaluated not ding for the education system is in only with today in mind but the the offing. This is the same party future as well. that prior to the last election pro- As a concerned taxpayer, mised that if elected, they would evaluate the Government's Throne increase the level of provincial fun- Speech in a practical way always ding of the education system back keeping im mmd that there- is no to sixty percent. But this is the free lunch and that you will be same party that as the Government paying for it. .. . . . . . . .. . . .