2010 CNSC Staff Integrated Safety Assessment of Canadian Nuclear Power Plants

Every year, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) publishes a report on the safety performance of Canada’s operating nuclear power plants (NPPs).

The CNSC Staff Integrated Safety Assessment of Canadian Nuclear Power Plants (NPP Report) evaluates how well licensees are meeting regulatory requirements and CNSC expectations for the ongoing implementation of their programs.

The CNSC adopted a risk-informed decision making approach in determining the safety ratings. This approach integrates all the findings over the year and produces an integrated plant rating, which allows the CNSC to better identify and monitor performance trends over time.

Read the full 2010 NPP Report (PDF).

See the summary chart of the 2010 NPP Report.

Ratings

There are four rating levels in this year’s report and these are expressed as "Fully Satisfactory" (FS), "Satisfactory" (SA), "Below Expectations" (BE) and "Unacceptable" (UA).

New for 2010

During 2010, CNSC continued to make improvements in its operations through the introduction of changes to business practices supporting its regulatory functions. These changes have resulted in the need to revise the contents and the format of the 2010 NPP Report, as follows:

Safety and control areas

The new safety and control area (SCA) framework was introduced in 2010 for use in all operating licences and provides a common set of safety and control terms that are applicable across the entire CNSC. The SCAs are presented in a comprehensive framework consisting of 14 SCAs. This new framework replaces the previously used safety areas and programs.

Format

As part of the NPP licence reform initiative, the CNSC modified annual reporting to the Commission and to the public on NPP safety performance. Consequently, the NPP Report now provides information not only on industry safety performance, but also on the status of the regulatory obligations from licensing decisions, as well as other licensing and regulatory issues.

The NPP Report is divided into two parts. Part 1 is entitled “Safety Performance” and it is further divided into section 1A, “Industry performance and developments” and section 1B, “Station performance”. The information presented in Part 1 covers the 2010 calendar year.

2010 NPP Report Results

As a result of the assessment of inspection findings and desktop reviews, and reviews of events and performance indicators, CNSC staff conclude that the licensed NPPs in Canada operated safely during 2010. This conclusion is based on the observations that:

• There were no serious process failures at any NPP.
• No members of the public received a radiation dose in excess of the regulatory limits.
• No workers were confirmed to receive a radiation dose in excess of the regulatory limits.
• The severity of non-radiological injuries to workers was minimal.
• All environmental emissions from the stations were below regulatory limits.
• Licensees complied with their licence conditions concerning Canada’s international obligations for the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

To request a printed copy, please send an email to info@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca.