Summary: Regulatory Oversight Report for Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Sites: 2023

The Regulatory Oversight Report for Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Sites: 2023 describes the safety performance of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) sites licensed by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). It also provides details on CNSC staff’s work to ensure the safety and protection of the people and the environment nearby.

CNSC staff evaluated CNL’s performance across the standard set of 14 safety and control areas (SCAs). This report focuses on 3 SCAs that provide a good overview of safety performance at CNL sites: radiation protection; conventional health and safety; and environmental protection.

The performance ratings for the following sites for the 2023 calendar year are included in this report:

• Chalk River Laboratories – an operating nuclear research laboratory
• Whiteshell Laboratories – a nuclear research laboratory undergoing decommissioning
• Port Hope Area Initiative
  • Port Hope Project – a long-term low-level radioactive waste remediation project
  • Port Granby Project – a long-term low-level radioactive waste remediation project
  • Port Hope Pine Street Extension Temporary Storage Site – a temporary storage site for low-level radioactive waste
  • Port Hope Radioactive Waste Management Facility – a temporary storage facility for low-level radioactive waste
• Douglas Point Waste Facility – a shutdown prototype power reactor
• Gentilly-1 Waste Facility – a shutdown prototype power reactor
• Nuclear Power Demonstration Waste Facility – a shutdown prototype power reactor

The CNSC assesses the safety performance of licensees by conducting regulatory oversight activities, including inspections, technical assessments of licensee reports, reviews of events and incidents, and general communication and exchanges of information with licensees.

CNSC staff rated all SCAs as “satisfactory”, except for the human performance management and the emergency management and fire protection SCAs at Whiteshell Laboratories, which were rated as “below expectations”.

The CNL sites operated safely in 2023, and monitoring data shows that both the water and any food grown near these sites are safe to consume. A total of 33 inspections were conducted by CNSC staff at the CNL sites in 2023. The inspections resulted in 119 notices of non-compliance (NNCs), which all related to issues identified as being of low safety significance. All NNCs are now closed or have a corrective action plan in place to prevent recurrence.

Despite the 2 ratings of below expectations, CNSC staff concluded that the CNL sites continued to perform licensed activities safely in 2023. This conclusion was supported by safety performance measures and observations, including the fact that CNL:

• operated within the bounds of its operating policies and principles
• followed approved procedures and took adequate corrective actions for all events reported to the CNSC

It was also supported by confirmation from CNL that:

• the health and safety of Indigenous Nations and communities and the public near the CNL sites, as well as the surrounding environment, continue to be protected
• workers at each CNL site have conducted the licensed activities safely and are properly protected
• there were no releases from CNL sites that could have harmed the environment or the health and safety of people

Engagement with Indigenous Nations and communities

CNL sites are located on the traditional and/or treaty territories of many Indigenous peoples. The CNSC is committed to building relationships and trust with Indigenous Nations and communities with interest in CNSC-regulated facilities.

In 2023, CNSC staff took part in meaningful engagement activities with Indigenous Nations and communities in relation to the facilities covered by this regulatory oversight report. These engagement activities support the CNSC’s commitment to consultation and to continued efforts to build and strengthen positive relationships with Indigenous Nations and communities.

The full report is available to download on the Open Government Portal.