by John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Source: Telegraph-Journal
September 21, 2026
Point Lepreau nuclear plant. Photo: NB Power
NB Power says about 200 litres of radioactive heavy water gushed out of a broken instrumentation line earlier this month at its Lepreau nuclear plant, a dangerous problem that’s still under repair.
But the public utility insists no workers were exposed to heavy radiation in the cleanup, a claim backed by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, which oversees the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station.
“Approximately 200 litres of heavy water was contained and collected in the reactor building as per station design,” wrote spokesperson Elizabeth Fraser-McAllister, in an email to Brunswick News on Monday. “There was no impact or safety risk to the public, staff, or the environment.”
Asked how many staff were involved in the cleanup and repair, the spokesperson didn’t give a firm number. However, she said trained and qualified station staff with specialized expertise entered the reactor building using personal protective clothing and equipment appropriate for the conditions.
Two hundred litres of water is about the amount that a standard-size bathtub would hold.
“Staff accessing the area where the leak was located completed their work under strict radiation protection and industrial safety controls, including specialized monitoring equipment and personal protective equipment,” Fraser-McAllister wrote. “There were no unplanned or unexpected exposures associated with this event. Worker safety remains our top priority.”
NB Power slow to respond
Critics have accused NB Power of downplaying the hazardous spill, detected on September 10th.
When Brunswick News asked early Friday morning whether the leak, first reported via a public news release on September 14th, was highly radioactive, it took NB Power nearly 10 hours to answer the question.
Blitzed with follow up questions, the utility took until Monday afternoon to provide more information.
On Monday, the utility said repairs were progressing.
“The work is being carried out methodically and in accordance with strict safety standards. We will provide updates as new information becomes available.”
In the meantime, the plant remains offline and won’t produce any electricity.
For earlier coverage, click here.
This story was written by John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Reporter with Brunswick News.
Accidents at Lepreau are concerning and need to be kept to a minimum, but the radiation problem that actually affects many people in NB directly is radon, a radioactive gas that leaks into basements because of NB’s uranium rich geology. One out of four houses in NB have radon levels above the level at which radon-reduction action is recommended. Radon is the most common cause of lung cancer after smoking.
https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/ocmoh/healthy_environments/content/radon.html
Skin cancer, the commonest type of cancer in Canada, is mostly caused by exposure to radiation (solar ultraviolet radiation or ultraviolet from artificial tanning). Most people in NB are routinely exposed every day to either radon radiation or ultraviolet radiation, either of which can cause cancer, which is avoidable if people take appropriate precautions.
Radon has nothing to do with this leak. It’s a naturally occurring radioactive gas that comes from the decay of heavy elements in the ground. Stop trying to conflate this leak of relatively harmless heavy water. Drinking a single glass of heavy water like deuterium will have no harmful effect on your body. There are videos on youtube of people doing this.
If you had bothered to read my post, you’d have seen that I didn’t in any way at all suggest that radon has anything to do with this leak. The only one implying a conflation of the two dangers is you. I merely pointed out that radon is a radiation danger to the public that is more significant to the average New Brunswicker, and one that they should learn more about to protect themselves.
You’re correct that heavy water (D2O) is harmless. Heavy water contaminated with tritium is not harmless. The concern at Lepreau is that high levels of tritium were detected in a heavy water leak
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/high-levels-radioactive-isotopes-disovery-lepreau-leak-9.7354212
If you want to drink a glass of tritium-contaminated heavy water that leaked out of a nuclear reactor, be my guest. It would make a popular addition to the Youtube videos, I’m sure, though it would end any hopes you might have of a career as an influencer.
@Jon Let’s spread disinformation now because there’s a relatively harmless tritium leak at a plant. Your coal plant next door releases thousands of times more radiation than this plant if it leaked like this *every day*.
It may surprise you that I don’t have a coal plant.
You’re looking for an enemy to attack, so you’ll find one, whether it makes sense or not.
You’re right that burning coal releases radioisotopes that occur naturally in coal, along with mercury and other toxins. What’s harder to understand is why you’re so offended by facts, such when I pointed out that radon in houses is probably a bigger concern for New Brunswickers than a heavy water leak at Lepreau.
If you have test results on the scale of the tritium leak, do share them with us. Otherwise your claim that it’s “relatively harmless” is nothing but a baseless allegation that could be considered “disinformation”.