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Independent Environmental Monitoring Program: BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada Inc. – Toronto

Site name BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada Inc. – Toronto
Licensee BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada Inc. (BWXT NEC), formerly GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Canada
Facility name BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada Inc. – Toronto
Facility location Toronto, Ontario
Land acknowledgement The CNSC acknowledges that BWXT NEC – Toronto is located within the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, and now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.
Facility description BWXT NEC manufactures nuclear fuel bundles for Canada's nuclear power plants using uranium dioxide (UO2) powder. The BWXT NEC – Toronto facility produces UO2 pellets from uranium dioxide powder.
Environmental protection requirements In accordance with regulatory requirements under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, all licensees of Class I nuclear facilities and uranium mines and mills must maintain a comprehensive environmental protection program to monitor and control nuclear and hazardous substances released from the facilities they own and operate. As part of every licensee’s environmental protection program, concentrations of contaminants in the environment must be determined and the potential exposure pathways to the public must be assessed and mitigated.

Our IEMP results from 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2025 are consistent with the results submitted by BWXT NEC, supporting our assessment that the licensee’s environmental protection program is effective. The results add to the body of evidence that people and the environment in the vicinity of BWXT NEC – Toronto are protected and that there are no anticipated health impacts from the operation of the facilities on the site.

Interactive Map

View the IEMP’s interactive map and instructions on navigating IEMP mapping.

Results

2025

The 2025 IEMP sampling plan for BWXT NEC – Toronto focused on radioactive nuclear and hazardous substances. A site-specific sampling plan was developed based on the licensee’s approved environmental monitoring program and our regulatory experience with the site. We endeavour to incorporate traditional Indigenous land use, values and knowledge by engaging with Indigenous Nations and communities on the sampling plan. More information on this engagement is provided in the “Indigenous Nations and communities’ participation” section.

In June 2025, we collected air and soil samples in publicly accessible areas outside the facility perimeter.

The levels of radioactivity and hazardous substances measured in air and soil were below available guidelines and our own screening levels. Our screening levels are based on conservative assumptions about the exposure that would result in a dose of 0.1 millisieverts (mSv) per year (one-tenth of the regulatory public dose limit of 1 mSv/year). Measurements conducted by the IEMP to date have consistently found levels of radioactivity in the environment to be low and well within the range of natural background radiation levels. As a result, no effects on human health are expected.

2022

The 2022 IEMP sampling plan for BWXT NEC – Toronto focused on uranium. Uranium is both a radioactive substance (it decays at a slow rate, primarily emitting alpha radiation and, at lower levels, beta and gamma radiation) and a hazardous substance (exposure to uranium can lead to chemical toxicity). A site-specific sampling plan was developed based on the licensee’s approved environmental monitoring program and our regulatory experience with the site. We endeavour to incorporate traditional Indigenous land use, values and knowledge by engaging with Indigenous Nations and communities on the sampling plan. More information on this engagement is provided in the “Indigenous Nations and communities’ participation” section.

In June 2022, we collected air and soil samples in publicly accessible areas outside the facility perimeter.

The levels of radioactivity and hazardous substances measured in soil and air were below available guidelines and our own laboratory screening levels. Our screening levels are based on conservative assumptions about the exposure that would result in a dose of 0.1 mSv per year (one-tenth of the regulatory public dose limit of 1 mSv per year). IEMP measurements to date have consistently found levels of radioactivity in the environment to be low and well within the range of natural background radiation levels. As a result, no effects on human health are expected.

2014, 2016, 2018 and 2019

IEMP sampling at the BWXT NEC – Toronto site for 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2019 focused on uranium. Uranium is both a radioactive substance (it decays at a slow rate by emitting gamma radiation) and a hazardous substance (since exposure to uranium leads to chemical toxicity). A site-specific sampling plan was developed based on BWXT NEC’s environmental monitoring program and the CNSC’s regulatory experience with the site. In July 2014, July 2016, June 2018, and June 2019 samples were collected in areas outside the BWXT NEC – Toronto site perimeter fence and included samples of air and soil. The concentrations of uranium in the samples were below available guidelines. No health or environmental impacts are expected at these levels.

Indigenous Nations and communities’ participation

We have made it a priority to ensure that IEMP sampling reflects Indigenous knowledge, land use and values where possible. In addition to conducting routine IEMP sampling activities, we seek input from local Indigenous Nations and communities on our IEMP sampling plans.

In advance of the 2025 IEMP sampling campaign around BWXT NEC – Toronto, emails were sent to Indigenous Nations and communities with interest in the facility to notify them of the sampling campaign and to seek input on the sampling plan. For the 2025 sampling campaign, no feedback was received. We will continue to engage with interested Indigenous Nations and communities to ensure that the IEMP incorporates Indigenous knowledge in future sampling.

Focus on health

We review the results of public health reports and data, examine international publications, and at times conduct our own health studies to provide additional confidence that the health of people living near BWXT NEC – Toronto is protected. Toronto Public Health (TPH), Public Health Ontario, and Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario) monitor the health of populations around Toronto. Disease rates are compared to rates in populations that are demographically/geographically similar, or to rates in larger reference populations such as Ontario, to detect any potential health outcomes that may be of concern.

According to TPH, the leading contributors to death and disability among people living in Toronto are chronic diseases (cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases). In 2021, the TPH region had lower rates (both sexes, age-standardized) compared to Ontario and compared to other mainly urban centres in Ontario for all-cause mortality, mortality from avoidable causes (e.g., cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, certain cancers), and mortality from preventable causes (cancer and non-cancer).

Similar to the general populations of Canada and Ontario, the most diagnosed cancer types in the TPH region are breast, prostate, lung and colorectal. According to Cancer Care Ontario, for the period from 2016 to 2020, incidence rates were higher in the TPH region compared to Ontario for myeloma and stomach and thyroid cancer, whereas incidence rates were lower for leukemia, melanoma, and bladder, cervix (females), colorectal, esophagus, kidney, lung, oral cavity and pharynx, and prostate cancers. In addition, the age-standardized cancer incidence rate for all cancers combined was lower in the TPH region compared to Ontario.

Health data often varies by region, and the opportunity to be healthy is not the same for everyone; it is affected by personal, lifestyle, social, economic, environmental and systemic factors.

The Toronto population is diverse in gender, sexual orientation, age, country of birth, and race. TPH recognizes that health inequities persist in the region, and that it is important to identify them and implement upstream interventions. For cancer risk factors, compared to Ontario, the TPH region fared better for some and worse for others. For example, the incidence of liver cancer is higher in Toronto compared to other areas in Ontario, likely because of higher numbers of at-risk populations for chronic hepatitis B and C infections. In 2022, participation in breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening was lower than the provincial average. In 2019–2020, second-hand smoke exposure was higher than Ontario, significantly among females; and household food insecurity (2018–2020), low income (2021) and unemployment (2021) were also higher than Ontario. However, for the period from 2018 to 2020, compared to Ontario, Torontonians had lower rates of alcohol consumption, binge drinking, and being overweight and obese.

Health data for Indigenous Peoples is not reported separately by TPH. There are no specific studies on health effects from the presence of BWXT NEC – Toronto; however, several have been conducted in Port Hope, Ontario, where the radium and uranium refining, processing and fabrication industry has existed since the 1930s. In 2011, the CNSC used a weight-of-evidence approach to summarize the environmental and health studies conducted in the area and concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that the existence (past and present) of nuclear facilities in Port Hope contributed to poor health outcomes in the community. A 2013 CNSC study examined mortality (1950–1999) and cancer incidence (1969–1999) among uranium and radium processing workers in Port Hope. Overall, workers had lower mortality and cancer incidence compared to the general Canadian population, as might be expected for healthy worker studies. In addition, a 2013 Health Canada study examined cancer incidence from 1992 to 2007 in the Port Hope area. When compared to Ontario, there were no significant differences in the incidence of childhood cancer. Findings from these studies are consistent with research studies conducted in other countries, which together help inform the health of populations living near nuclear facilities.

The CNSC is currently conducting a Canada-wide study of uranium workers: the Canadian Uranium Workers Study (CANUWS). CANUWS incorporates approximately 90,000 Canadian uranium industry workers, including miners, millers and processing workers. The study will look at the long-term health of workers and the relationship between workplace radiation and cancer incidence and mortality, especially at the low radiation exposures of today’s nuclear energy workers.

Based on past and current levels of radionuclides in the environment; exposures to people living in the area; the current scientific knowledge about the sources, effects and risks of ionizing radiation; and relevant local, provincial and federal health information, we have not observed and do not expect to observe any adverse health outcomes related to the presence of BWXT NEC – Toronto.

We are grateful to TPH staff for reviewing this “Focus on health”.

For additional information, please visit the following websites:

Conclusions

Our IEMP results from 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2025 are consistent with the results submitted by BWXT NEC, supporting our assessment that the licensee’s environmental protection program is effective. The results add to the body of evidence that people and the environment in the vicinity of BWXT NEC – Toronto are protected and that there are no anticipated health impacts from the operation of the facilities on the site.

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