Canadian nuclear operators could be on the hook for as much a $1-billion in the event of a disastrous incident at one of the country's reactors under changes announced Monday by the Harper government.
The amount is only a tiny fraction of the cost of the meltdown and release of radioactive material that occurred when a nuclear power plant in Japan was hit by an earthquake and a tsunami in 2011. The price of the clean-up of that accident is estimated to be as high as a quarter of a trillion dollars.
But the proposed new liability limit is significantly higher than the $650-million contained in previous bills introduced by the government and would bring Canada in line with other countries that rely heavily on nuclear power. The United Kingdom, France, Spain and other European nations are moving to a $900-million cap.
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/nuclear-power-plants-to-be-on-the-hook-for-1-billion-in-event-of-meltdown/article12446956/