Highlights of the 2014–15 CNSC Annual Report

The events in Fukushima, Japan in 2011 changed the nuclear industry forever. Countries around the world – including Canada – are reassessing their nuclear emergency preparedness and their ability to respond to severe accidents. As part of the process to validate recent improvements and to confirm Canada’s ability to respond to a nuclear emergency, Exercise Unified Response took place in May 2014 and was one of the largest nuclear exercises ever held in North America. It was also the first full-scale national nuclear exercise since major revisions were made to the Federal Nuclear Emergency Plan.

Held over three days, Exercise Unified Response involved a simulated severe accident at the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station. There was broad participation from organizations from all levels of government as well as the operator, non-government and some international partners, such as the IAEA, the U.S. NRC and France’s Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire.

The exercise was designed to challenge all organizations with a role in responding to a nuclear emergency. It allowed emergency response organizations to test their emergency plans and demonstrate that they can respond effectively to a severe accident, in order to protect the public, infrastructure and the environment.

Over the past few decades, Canadian nuclear power plants (NPPs) have relied increasingly on digital technologies within their control and monitoring systems – making these systems both more efficient and easier to maintain. At the same time, this has introduced the possibility of cyber threats that could have adverse safety or security impacts.

With this understanding, the CNSC sought in 2008 to engage NPP licensees in a comprehensive review of their cyber-security measures for their control and monitoring systems. To identify opportunities for improvement, licensees analyzed existing measures against current best international practices. They produced updated, even more comprehensive programs, encompassing digital assets and systems for safety, security and emergency preparedness. CNSC staff reviewed these programs and deemed them to meet regulatory expectations.

The CNSC sought in 2008 to engage NPP licensees in a comprehensive review of their cyber-security measures for their control and monitoring systems.

To further strengthen the CNSC’s regulatory framework around cyber security for the nuclear industry, CNSC staff participated extensively in drafting new CSA standard N290.7, Cyber security for nuclear power plants and small reactor facilities, which was published in December 2014. This document – which will form the cornerstone of the CNSC’s regulation of cyber security in Canada – clearly outlines expectations for protecting systems that are important to safety, security and emergency preparedness, as well as international safeguards against cyber threats at nuclear facilities.

The CNSC has also introduced new cyber-security compliance verification criteria to licence conditions handbooks, and has produced a first-of-its-kind inspection guide for conducting cyber-security inspections. A successful pilot inspection was conducted at an NPP at the beginning of 2015, and further cyber-security inspections are planned at other Canadian NPPs over the next few years.

Working both nationally with licensees and internationally with its counterparts, the CNSC ensures that Canadian NPPs maintain a strong cyber-security posture. NPP licensees’ programs for cyber security are designed, implemented and maintained based upon administrative, operational and technical controls. These programs are robust to counter the persistent, increasingly sophisticated nature of existing cyber threats that are targeting energy sectors around the world.

A financial guarantee is a tangible licensee commitment to have sufficient resources to safely terminate licensed activities, in accordance with CNSC regulatory requirements. When licensees terminate their activities, they must properly account for the safe disposal of all licensed material and equipment, and must demonstrate that all locations associated with the licence are free of radioactive contamination. Failure to properly terminate licensed activities can pose a health and safety risk to people and the environment. A financial guarantee does not relieve licensees from complying with regulatory requirements for terminating licensed activities, but ensures there are funds available when licensees are unable to carry out safe termination.

Since the NSCA came into force in 2000, the Commission has required financial guarantees for major nuclear facilities across Canada, including nuclear power plants, uranium mines and mills, research reactors and major waste facilities. In 2011, the Commission published discussion paper DIS-11-01, Implementation of Financial Guarantees for Licensees, which stated that – going forward – all other licensees would also have financial instruments acceptable to the Commission. At the August 2014 public Commission meeting, CNSC staff presented a technical briefing on the proposed financial guarantee program, that comprises a new financial instrument for CNSC licences issued for nuclear substances, prescribed equipment and Class II nuclear facilities.

The financial guarantee is in the form of an insurance policy whose premiums are shared by all participating licensees and the CNSC is the sole beneficiary.

Potentially affected licensees and other interested persons were given an opportunity to be heard in writing on the proposed licence amendments to implement the new financial guarantee requirement. The financial guarantee is in the form of an insurance policy whose premiums are shared by all participating licensees and the CNSC is the sole beneficiary. The average annual financial contribution from licensees is $58 per licence (0.44 percent of total calculated liability for safe termination of licensed activities) in order to comply with the new financial guarantee requirements. Licensees can propose an alternative financial instrument, which the CNSC will evaluate. Such a financial instrument is expected to meet the criteria of adequacy and certainty of value, continuity and liquidity, as outlined in section 5.1 of CNSC regulatory guide G-206, Financial Guarantees for the Decommissioning of Licensed Activities.

In January 2015, after an in-writing hearing, a panel of the Commission made a decision that amended licences for nuclear substances, prescribed equipment and Class II nuclear facilities to include requirements for financial guarantees. This was in accordance with the new financial instrument developed by the CNSC.

Licensed public institutions such as hospitals, universities and government departments do not have to set aside any specific funds or financial instrument, as these public institutions are supported by federal, provincial or municipal governments, which are expected to assume the cost for safe termination of their licensed activities. They only need to acknowledge their financial liability through a signed declaration submitted to the CNSC.

The CNSC created its Independent Environmental Monitoring Program (IEMP) to add a layer of verification that the public and the environment around licensed nuclear facilities are safe. This program is separate from, but complementary to, the CNSC’s ongoing compliance verification activities, such as reviews of compliance reports and regular inspections. The IEMP is in line with similar programs of other national and international regulatory bodies.

CNSC staff collect samples of air, water, soil, sediment, vegetation such as grass and weeds, and some food, like meat and produce, in publicly accessible locations — for example, parks, residential communities and beaches. The samples are prepared and analyzed at the CNSC’s state-of-the-art laboratory in Ottawa, where they are tested for levels of radiological (nuclear) and non-radiological (hazardous) substances. Results are published on an interactive, user-friendly dashboard on the CNSC’s website. In 2014, approximately 200 IEMP samples were collected around 12 nuclear facilities.

Since the February 2015 launch, the IEMP dashboard has received very positive feedback from members of the public and licensees. One comment stated: “The CNSC is to be commended for taking a step in the right direction by doing its own sampling and not just relying on the licence holder’s monitoring and proprietary third-party monitoring”.

The IEMP is being implemented for facilities in all segments of the nuclear fuel cycle. For 2015, the CNSC plans to collect IEMP samples at 11 locations, including power plants, a processing facility, a research facility and uranium mines and mills.