Aidan Leach

Senior Nuclear Facility Site Inspector, Chalk River Laboratories Site Office

Aidan has worked at the CNSC since 2019. As a site inspector, he leads inspections and compliance activities to ensure that Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) is operating its Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) site in a safe and secure manner compliant with its licence and with the Nuclear Safety and Control Act and its associated regulations. He is also tasked with staying up to date on CNL’s activities through frequent monitoring and time spent at the site to ensure that CNSC project officers and specialists are aware of new projects, changes and initiatives occurring at the CRL site.

Expertise and education

Aidan is a licensed professional engineer in the province of Ontario, having earned his master’s degree in chemical and biochemical engineering at the University of Western Ontario. While his educational background is in chemical engineering, he has worked extensively in nuclear facility operations, radiation protection and safety analysis, and specializes in inspections and compliance verification. His focus is on nuclear laboratories such as research reactors, waste management and decommissioning, as well as Class IB nuclear facilities such as hot cells and fuel fabrication facilities, waste management and decommissioning.

Roles and responsibilities

Aidan helps ensure, through verification in all 14 safety and control areas as well as other areas of regulatory interest, that CNL remains compliant and that the Ottawa River and the surrounding Ottawa Valley, where he was born and raised, are kept safe. He is a frequent presence as the recognizable “face” of the CNSC at Chalk River, conducting compliance activities onsite to help ensure that the licensee is using nuclear energy and materials in a manner that protects the environment and the health, safety and security of Canadians. He also conducts outreach in the local community to disseminate objective scientific, technical and regulatory information to the public.

Other roles

On his own time, Aidan is chair of the Renfrew County Regional Science Fair, helping further the STEM education of young students in the Upper Ottawa Valley around the Chalk River site. Aidan loves being in the field almost every day and being a notable presence at the CRL site. He is proud of the hard work he has done to establish trust at both the site and in the community so that workers and the public know that he is doing his part to keep their community safe.