Reactor reaction

Reactor reaction

Norman Rubin's letter on Feb. 19, 1996, Indonesia: Nuclear reactor accuses me of making statements publicly in Indonesia which "no one would dare make in Canada." Not so. I stand behind every word in my letter, here or in Toronto. I'm not sure he could do the same: He can't even count the number of operating reactors in Ontario correctly (there are 19, not 12). Unfortunately the Post's editing of my letter altered the sense of the second paragraph which read, in part, "Reviews of the safety of Canada's CANDU nuclear power program have been made by several independent public commissions, which have heard the detailed representations by hundreds of witnesses, including Greenpeace (which was born in Canada) and other NGOs. The government even required the utility, Ontario Hydro, to give the NGOs millions of dollars to prepare their submissions. In every case, these commissions have found that these nuclear power plants are safe and economic." Greenpeace and other anti-nuclear groups, including Rubin's, have never been able to convince a properly constituted inquiry in Canada that nuclear power is unsafe.

Rubin's self-appointed group keep repeating the same tired accusations which, time and again, fail the test of open and impartial examination. I am confident that Indonesians are capable of making their own decisions without his help.

KEITH BRADLEY

Atomic Energy

of Canada Limited

Jakarta