Here's what it looks like inside a nuclear power plant

Pickering Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario is one of the largest nuclear power stations in the world. CBC's Mike Crawley got a rare tour of the plant, which is off-limits to the general public.

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[renj]

3:00 looks like the control room of the starship enterprise except its not a prop

[Alex_Plante]

I visited Pickering back in the 90s. Even though it's much smaller than Bruce, it's still very impressive.

[christopherleubner]

That body scanner uses a mix of argon and methane to detect radiation, sorta like a very large geiger counter tube but the gas slowly flows through it. They are very sensitive especially for beta and alpha contamination ❤

[Zxarr]

When I was a kid, my father worked a a Draftsman at Ontario Hydro. I never saw Pickering, but Darlington was of similar design. Before Darlington was completed, all the families got a picnic and a tour. I remember seeing the 'core' and so wanted it to look space-age and cool... instead it was just a bunch of tube caps. I also remember the coolant pool well before it was filled with water. I remember seeing a soccer ball at the bottom of the pool, but memories are a funny thing, so it may not be true, just one of those weird little child-like fantasies. I mean, you'd never lose the ball!

[SpikeyTech]

Nuclear (fission) energy isn't perfect, but it's what we need in the meantime while we continue to research fusion energy. "Don't let perfection be the enemy of good", and nuclear is leagues better and safer than coal (don't forget, coal is radioactive too and pollutes a LOT).

[Kyleigh-Hughes]

Okay but where is the safety technician working in sector 7-G? I wanted some input from that particular individual.

[SEParksProjects]

I've been there to the Pickering nuclear powerplant, not inside, but I still got a good view of it. even though there was a incident on December 10, 1994 and there was a loss of coolant, it's save to say that it's super dooper safe today and it has been safe for decades now.

[littlesquirtthefireengine]

I was always wondering what the turbine looked like. I had no idea! Great video.

[crabbyhayes]

I worked for one of the equipment and service vendors at the Pickering station back in the 90s for several years, prior to returning to the US. It wasn't unusual to attend back-to-back meetings at Units at opposite ends of the station. That effort would require about a half-mile walk and several scans along the way. Boy, did I lose weight. It was great working with the Ontario Hydro people - although I can't say I miss the winters.

[MaverickBlue]

I don't understand why people are so against building modern nuclear plants that are 3 times safer than these ancient 1960's plants, with their refurbished 1980's computer systems....

[RRomeo]

Thats wild. But that was a fantastic walk thru of your facility.

[vandavis]

Wow. Thanks for showing us how yall make our lives easier with power. You rock❤

[runswithscissors]

You know what’s wild to think about, a lot of these technologies were discovered in the last <100 years. The fact humanity has done so much in the tech world in such a short amount of time is nothing short of incredible.

Like, these guys go to training for 4 years to learn this stuff, the different systems and protocols. Who is the one doing the training? And creating the framework for it all and class curriculum? Those guys must be absolute GENIUSES.

[ericm]

a CBC video without comments disabled, thats different.

[nagasako]

I'm American, but read about Canadian CANDU reactors and how stable they are. Canada should make it national priority to use NPPs over fossil fuels. And bonus, export electricity to lower 48 U States.

[Dasycottus]

Nuclear power is amazing. I wish people weren't so scared of it. It's absolutely fabulous

[ronblack]

i was in there in 1982 when i had a summer job in the engineering dept at ontario hydro. i worked for 2 engineers and we did an inspection there to see how the new units were progressing. i think unit 6 or 7 is where i was. it was under construction . i remember having to put on tyvek booties and then walking out on top of the reactor where the control rods were . i couldn't tell you what the purpose of the tour was. also remember a pipefitter was covering some pipes with lead pipe split in half about 1 inch thick. he would cover it then solder the 2 halves together.

[techcafe]

i was hoping for a more extensive tour of the power plant, it was just starting to get interesting.

[ghostmasterson]

Nice video! Passed my 2nd class power engineer's exam in October. 🎉😂 👍

[robertedwards]

Amazing! What was that switch for? No not that one. Yes that one.😮 .