2010 Annual CNSC Staff Report on the Safety Performance of Canadian Nuclear Power Plants

Last week, the CNSC staff presented their annual report on the safety performance of Canada’s nuclear power facilities. Part I of the presentation covered the safety performance, from January to December 2010; Part II addressed regulatory developments and issues.  The public was invited to provide comments on the reports, which have been publicly available since April, however, no comments were received. The industry average was Satisfactory. This means our operators were found to be satisfying the regulators’ expectations for safety and control areas and maintaining very safe operations.

Summary of Results for 2010

• No serious process failures at the NPPs
• No radiation dose to the public and workers above the regulatory limits
• Accident severity rate was low
• No environmental releases above regulatory limits
• Canada was able to meet its international obligations regarding the peaceful use of nuclear energy

How did we do?

Here are some report highlights on each of the Canada’s nuclear stations

Bruce A & B

• Integrated Plant Ratings: Satisfactory
• Fully Satisfactory in measures of conventional health and safety

Darlington

• Integrated Plant Rating: Fully Satisfactory
• Fully Satisfactory in measures of Operating Performance, Fitness for Service, Radiation Protection

Pickering A & B

• Integrated Plant Ratings: Satisfactory
• Satisfactory in measures of Environmental Protection, Emergency Management and Fire Protection, Waste Management

Gentilly-2

• Integrated Plant Ratings: Satisfactory
• Satisfactory in measures of Human Performance Management, Safety Analysis, Safeguards

Point Lepreau

• Integrated Plant Ratings: Satisfactory
• Satisfactory in measures of Packaging and Transport, Radiation Protection, Environmental Protection
• NB Power’s Point Lepreau Generating Station received a “Below Expectations” rating in area of Emergency management and fire protection. NB Power assures their plant is safe. They have a plan in place to address the areas where performance needs to be improved and are confident in achieving high standards of performance. Safety is their number one priority.They do have fire, chemical, radiological and medical response capabilities as provided by highly trained, qualified and dedicated emergency response teams. They will continue to put measures in place to improve — that is their commitment to continuous improvement and ensuring that they meet the expectations of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

Aside from the report card on our nuclear power facilities, the CNSC staff report contains tons of interesting information about how Canadian plants fair against international benchmarks (note: very well!).

CNSC Presentation Overview

• Background of the 2010 Report
• Public Comments
• Summary of the Results for 2010
• Individual Station Highlights
• Concluding Remarks

Download PDF versions of the CNSC presentation documents below

2010 Annual CNSC Staff Report on the Safety Performance of Canadian Nuclear Power Plants

2010 Annual CNSC Staff Report on the Safety Performance of Canadian Nuclear Power Plants – Presentation

In the concluding remarks, the CNSC found that all nuclear power facilities in Canada operated safely in 2010, and that operators made adequate provisions to protect health, safety, environment and international commitments. The Canadian nuclear industry works because of a shared commitment to safety among plant workers and operators and the strong regulatory oversight of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

The CNSC will present a final report on the implications of the Japan nuclear event for Canadian nuclear power facilities. This report will be available on September 30, 2011.