Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
CNSC submits Fourth Canadian National Report for the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management to the IAEA
October 14, 2011
On October 14, 2011, on behalf the Government of Canada, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission submitted Canada’s Fourth National Report for the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (Joint Convention) to the Contracting Parties (member countries) of the Joint Convention via the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
his report demonstrates how Canada continues to meet its obligations under the terms of the Joint Convention, for the April 1, 2008–March 31, 2011 reporting period. A collaboration by government, industry and the regulatory body, this document focuses specifically on the progress of long-term management initiatives for spent fuel and radioactive waste in Canada, revisions and updates to Canada’s Third National Report and comments and issues raised at the Third Review Meeting. Specifically, it includes additional information on:
- Canada’s current priorities regarding long-term management of spent fuel and radioactive waste
- the inventory of spent fuel and radioactive wastes current to the reporting period
- continued implementation and ongoing funding of the Nuclear Legacy Liability Program
- the regulatory approval process for Ontario Power Generation deep geological repository for its low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste
Given the timing of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the Report does not take into consideration actions taken by the CNSC with Class I Nuclear Facilities, mines and mills which include spent fuel bays and radioactive waste facilities. On March 22, 2011, under section 12(2) of the General Safety and Control Regulations (GNSCR), the CNSC requested all Class 1 licensed facilities in Canada to review initial lessons learned from the incident in Japan and to confirm that their overall safety cases remain strong. Licensees concluded that their overall safety cases remain strong. To confirm their findings, the CNSC has performed a series of inspections at each station. Canada will be participating in an Extraordinary Meeting of the Convention on Nuclear Safety in August 2012 on lessons learned from Fukushima. More information on the CNSC’s response is available at nuclearsafety.gc.ca
The Report will be discussed amongst the Contracting Parties during the Fourth National Report Review Meeting to be held at the IAEA in Vienna, Austria, in May 14-23, 2012.
The Report will be made available upon request at info@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca.
