Natural Resources committee  You've asked a number of questions there, so I may not be able to keep the answers short. The letter I believe you were referring to was not written by me; it was written by Dr. Torgerson. It was intended to try to move us toward a one-pump start-up solution. By the time we got to the December 7 point, a number of things—

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. My relationship and the relationship of my organization is with CNSC staff. I think you've heard me describe it as a professional relationship, and we have great respect for CNSC staff. My relationship with the ex-president and ex-chair of the commission is only across the commission table.

Natural Resources committee  We have a commercial relationship with MDS Nordion. As the primary supplier of medical isotopes, we're paid, as would be the case in any other supply chain system, for the product we provide. I don't have a lot of familiarity with the history of the arrangement, but I know it goes back many years.

Natural Resources committee  I didn't come prepared with those numbers, so if I were to share them in this forum they would be just off the top of my head. You made a statement earlier that there was a notion of protecting MDS Nordion. My focus is the safe operation of the facility and the relationship with CNSC staff.

Natural Resources committee  That's correct.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you for the question. I'm going to assume that you're asking about what was the probability with no pumps connected to the emergency power supply system.

Natural Resources committee  The way in which accident and safety analysis goes is that we don't go beyond and calculate that chain of probabilities because it's the most conservative number that's used. I don't have that number with me today. We could make it available to the committee, if it's important.

Natural Resources committee  The reactor itself was designed and built in 1957 and has incredible margins. It's a very robust, very strong design. I can't tell you why that was; it's too far back in time. So the reactor itself was designed to the standards at that time. What's important is that it's not a power reactor.

Natural Resources committee  You're asking me to speak to what's in the mind of another person. What I can say to you is that I've been consistent since December 11, acknowledging where my performance and the performance of my organization failed to meet my expectations. I have some of the best people in the industry as part of my team.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you for the questions. The reactor has operated safely for more than 50 years now, and in the same geographic area. There are no international standards for fuel failures, so what we were responding to was the reality of the situation that one in a thousand is the calculated probability of an earthquake of sufficient magnitude that is calculated to be around six on the Richter scale, centred on the NRU facility.

Natural Resources committee  The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is mandated to look after the safety of Canadians in this area.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you for the question. There were many conditions associated with the renewal of the Chalk River licence.

Natural Resources committee  Yes, they were.

Natural Resources committee  My primary responsibility is to operate the facility safely and take it well beyond just simple regulatory and safety compliance. We provided feedback and information on the status of the commitments--

Natural Resources committee  Thank you for the question. We didn't challenge that fact. When CNSC staff made it clear to us that they believed we were outside our licensing basis--they didn't say we were operating unsafely. I think that's important. In fact, they have said we were operating safely. When they made it clear that we were outside our licensing basis, I responded to that.