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Canada geese stand near the Ontario Hydro Pickering nuclear power station, listed by a U.S. State Department cable as a site critical to American interests.Andy Clark

A water leak at the Pickering nuclear power plant east of Toronto does not pose any significant threats to public health, officials said Wednesday.



News of the leak attracted attention in the wake of the nuclear crisis in Japan following last Friday's earthquake and ensuing tsunami.



But both the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and Ontario Power Generation said the radiological risk to people's health and the environment from the Pickering leak is negligible.



"We were required to report this as a water spill, not because of a radiological event, to the Ministry of the Environment," said OPG spokesman Ted Gruetzner.



Mr. Gruetzner called it a minor leak and said once it was discovered, the release was immediately stopped.



OPG, the provincial utility that owns Ontario's three nuclear power plants, said there is no impact to the quality of drinking water.



The safety commission said 73,000 litres was released from the Pickering A generating station around 11:30 p.m. Monday night and was pumped into Lake Ontario.



The leak was about the size of a backyard swimming pool and was caused by a failed pump seal. The seal is being repaired, Mr. Gruetzner said.



The demineralized water, which Mr. Gruetzner said is more pure than lake water, contained trace amounts of tritium far below any regulatory limits.



The water had been used to keep spent fuel rods cool. It leaked from a secondary fuel bay into a well that collects ground water and was pumped into the lake.



"The process that's followed, it doesn't pick up much radiation but it does pick up a trace element," said Mr. Gruetzner.



It's not heavy water, which becomes more radioactive, he added.



The safety commission and Environment Canada are monitoring the situation.

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