Bruce Power continues efforts to help workers and the community overcome COVID-19.
The company reopened their Strength In Numbers online portal this week in response to the rising number of cases.
It offers community groups, small businesses and non-profit organizations access to personal protective equipment at competitive prices. And the site is hosting an online auction called the All in Ontario Challenge to support the United Way organizations of Bruce Grey and Huron-Perth.
Also another Cobalt harvest is underway, this time from the Unit 8 nuclear reactor. After completing this harvest, the company will have provided enough isotopes in 2020 to sterilize between 20-25 billion pairs of surgical gloves or COVID swabs.
In a media release Wednesday, Bruce Power also reported it is continuing to support local schools and communities by securing hand sanitizer and other PPE .
The company has put a number of safety measures in place at its facilities, allowing Bruce Power to continue with its Life-Extension work and Major Component Replacement (MCR) Project.
“Thanks to the efforts of our employees and contractors, we have been ahead of the curve in implementing many proactive prevention measures on site over the last six months, such as physical distancing protocols, increased hygiene, sanitation measures and masks,” said President and CEO Mike Rencheck. “We recently began COVID testing and screening of select Bruce Power and supplemental staff and contractors. Our precautionary measures, combined with our new testing capabilities, put us in an excellent position to continue keeping our people safe.”
“In recent days, Ontario has seen a rise in the number of cases. This is a stark reminder that we need to be vigilant at work, at home and in our communities to limit the spread of COVID-19.”
In August, Bruce Power provided 35,000 reusable cloth masks to employees, pensioners and contractors to be worn in the community or at work. Since the pandemic began, Bruce Power has provided 1.7-million pieces of PPE throughout Ontario, donated and raised more than $500,000 for local food banks, provided funding for research and development of ventilators to help COVID patients, worked with its supply chain partners to provide more than $380,000 to local and national organizations, and establish the Bruce Power Retooling and Economic Recovery Council.
“These continue to be challenging times for people across all walks of life and we’re fortunate to be in position of being able to help others,” said James Scongack, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Affairs and Operational Services. “We’re extremely grateful to all of our workers for taking the necessary precautions to continue the work we do in providing Ontarians with reliable, clean electricity, medical isotopes and in making sure the province will have nuclear power for decades to come.”