May 13, 2008 - 02:25

By Keith Gilligan

DURHAM -- Emergency workers in haz-mat suits and gas masks, using a geiger counter and carrying away the dead on stretchers.

Street theatre came to Pickering Tuesday morning as Greenpeace brought its awareness campaign to the home of a nuclear reactor. The environmental group wants to make the public aware of www.30km.ca.

Shawn-Patrick Stensil, a nuclear campaigner for Greenpeace, said the 30-kilometre radius is the size of the area evacuated following the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986. The incident led to the permanent evacuation of 300,000 people.

The 30-km radius around Pickering would mean 2.5 million people would have to be moved. The 30 kilometres covers an area from about Yonge Street in Toronto to almost Hwy. 35/115 in Clarington.

"We want to pressure (Premier Dalton) McGuinty not to rebuild Pickering 'B'," Mr. Stensil said.

The Pickering demonstration was held just outside the front doors of Pickering City Hall. Five Greenpeace members, with their faces covered in white make-up, laid on the ground until they were picked up in a stretcher. One of the five was placed in a body bag.

It was one of four staged events in Durham Region on Tuesday, with the others at the Regional headquarters in Whitby, the Oshawa City Hall and the Clarington municipal building.

Demonstrations were also held on Monday in downtown Toronto, on the edge of the 30-km radius.

Mr. Stensil said the Province is to announce a decision sometime next year on whether to rebuild the four 'B' side reactors at Pickering. If the work is approved, it would start in 2014 and the units would run until 2060.

"No regulator would allow them to build Pickering today because it's so close to the population," Mr. Stensil stated.

He referred to the "die-in" as "street theatre. It's a good way to engage people. Most people don't know the government is thinking of rebuilding an aging plant," he added. "We'll be rolling other things out over the summer."

Tracey Yarrow came out of the Pickering Central Library with three small children.

"I think it's a good idea. It brings awareness to what's going on," Ms. Yarrow said of the demonstration.

One lady walking by was asked about the demonstration and the potential for an accident.

"I don't really think about it one way or the other. I'm too old for that."

Sarah Bellmore was leaving the library with sons Sam, 5, and Jacob, 3.

"It's terrible to think about it, actually," she said. "I prefer not to think about it."

Tom Quinn, Pickering's chief administrative officer, came out to watch the demonstration, which included a fake newscast, by Action Pulse News, about a nuclear accident at Pickering.

"Everybody has their opinion," Mr. Quinn said. "This is very controlled. I gave them direction on where they could (stage the event).

"I gave them time and they said OK. It's not affecting the operations of City hall," Mr. Quinn stated.

Having to deal with a potential nuclear accident is "always a concern. It's not new. The station has been here for 35 years. We've seen a number of demonstrations," Mr. Quinn noted.

The station is the "number-one employer" in the community.

"In regards of operations, it's a good, safe operation. It's approved provincial, federally and internationally. It's safe. It if wasn't, it wouldn't get a licence," he added.

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