Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Uranium Processing and Fuel Fabrication Facilities
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While Canadian nuclear power plants use naturally occurring uranium as fuel, the uranium ore must first be processed.
Facilities for the processing of uranium for fuel are regulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act.
The CNSC's licensing process for uranium processing facilities follows the stages laid out in the Class I Nuclear Facilities Regulations, proceeding progressively through site preparation, construction, commissioning, operating, decommissioning, and abandonment phases.
Currently, there are five licensed uranium processing and fuel fabrication facilities operating in Canada:
Blind River Uranium Refining Facility
Licensee: Cameco Corporation
Location: Blind River, Ontario
Status: Operating
Capacity: The facility is licensed to produce up to 18,000 tonnes of uranium (as uranium trioxide) per year.
Port Hope Uranium Conversion Facility
Licensee: Cameco Corporation
Location: Port Hope, Ontario
Status: Operating
Capacity: The facility is licensed to produce up to:- 12,500 tonnes of uranium (as uranium hexafluoride) per year
- 2,800 tonnes of uranium (as uranium dioxide) per year
- 2,000 tonnes of uranium (as depleted or natural uranium metal) per year
Port Hope Nuclear Fuel Facility
Licensee: Cameco Fuel Manufacturing Inc. (formerly Zircatec Precision Industries Inc.)
Location: Port Hope, Ontario
Status: Operating
Capacity: The facility is licensed to produce up to 1,500 tonnes of uranium dioxide pellets contained in fuel bundles per year.
The licensee is authorized to produce uranium dioxide pellets from natural, depleted or low enriched uranium dioxide powder.
Toronto Nuclear Fuel Fabrication Facility
Licensee: GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Canada Inc.
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Status: Operating
Capacity: The facility is licensed to produce up to 1,800 tonnes of uranium dioxide pellets per year.
The licensee is authorized to produce uranium dioxide pellets from natural or depleted uranium dioxide powder.
Peterborough Nuclear Fuel Facility
Licensee: GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Canada Inc.
Location: Peterborough, Ontario
Status: Operating
The facility is licensed to produce up to 1,800 tonnes of uranium dioxide fuel bundles per year from natural or depleted uranium dioxide pellets received from its Toronto facility.
At each licensing stage, the CNSC determines whether the licence applicant is qualified and has made adequate provisions for the protection of the environment, the health and safety of persons, and the maintenance of national security.
Before a licence is issued, environmental assessments may be carried out to determine, and help mitigate, foreseeable risks. Applicants must also demonstrate that the required measures are in place to implement international obligations to which Canada has agreed. The CNSC encourages licensees to not only meet applicable standards, but to exceed them in order to make them as safe as possible for Canadians.
If satisfied with the application submitted and the programs required for safe operation, the CNSC may issue a licence that contains appropriate conditions. CNSC operating licences are for closed term periods, and are subject to renewal on the basis of compliance with the licence terms.
CNSC staff conduct inspections of licensed facilities to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and licence conditions so that facilities are operated safely and securely.
Another important aspect of CNSC oversight of uranium processing and fuel fabrication facilities involves the protection of nuclear materials as part of our international obligations for nuclear safeguards. As part of these obligations, Canada has a national accounting system for nuclear materials including inspections to ensure all materials are verifiably accounted for.
