Yes.
Evidence of meeting #24 for Natural Resources in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was nru.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #24 for Natural Resources in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was nru.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:55 p.m.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
What does it do after it goes into the barrels? What eventually happens to it?
4:55 p.m.
President, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
It's just stored there, until they decide whether they want to reprocess it or dispose of it in any other way.
4:55 p.m.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
And disposal can mean...? The last time, they put it into the river.
4:55 p.m.
President, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
The last time they went through the normal kind of treatment.
4:55 p.m.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Which didn't mean anything, because we had them in front of us and I asked them what treatment meant, and it meant hanging on to the stuff for a while—and then they poured it into the river.
4:55 p.m.
President, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
They don't pour it. It goes through the waste facilities, which make sure that whatever is released in the water is within standards.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Leon Benoit
Thank you, Mr. Cullen. Your time is up.
Mr. Trost, for up to seven minutes.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Bradley Trost Conservative Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK
I'll be splitting my time with Mr. Anderson.
I just have a couple of basic questions, which I essentially asked of AECL, but which I feel are useful, given our limited time, to get to the very basics.
In your opinion, did AECL handle the matter safely, properly, and in accordance with the regulatory guidelines the CNSC has set down?
4:55 p.m.
President, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
In this particular last event?
4:55 p.m.
President, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Absolutely.
We were informed, and our protocol worked. Within hours of this event, even when the operators were suspicious of this particular leak, they were already talking to our staff. They've taken it upon themselves to shut down the reactor and to keep it shut down so they can actually try to find where the leak came from.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Bradley Trost Conservative Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK
Now, as you said, you're not really concerned with isotope distribution; that's more of a health problem or issue. But as far as the safety of the general public is concerned, we just heard the AECL representative say it's 100% safe for the general public. Is that an opinion you and your organization share, that there is absolutely no risk or danger whatsoever to the general public due to the shutdown, the leaks, and all of the things surrounding it?
4:55 p.m.
President, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
If I understand correctly, if you're asking in general whether AECL is running—
5 p.m.
Conservative
Bradley Trost Conservative Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK
Right now, with Chalk River, the shutdown, and everything involved, was there any risk to the general public? Or has it been handled so it has been 100% safe for the general public?
June 4th, 2009 / 5 p.m.
President, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Absolutely.
It is in a shutdown. Normally, by definition, a shutdown is a safer state than when the reactor is running.
5 p.m.
Conservative
Bradley Trost Conservative Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK
Just to elaborate a little bit more, you noted that the communication protocols worked very well. My understanding is that they've been revised in the last 18 months, since the last major shutdown incident. So these are new or revised protocols that have been put in place in the last 18 months, roughly.
5 p.m.
President, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
That is correct. We have put in a protocol for proactive disclosure to try to inform all agencies, us, and the public of any particular issue that would be of concern.
5 p.m.
Conservative
Bradley Trost Conservative Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK
I'm very glad to hear things are running much better than they used to, due to CNSC, AECL, and the government all taking proactive steps.
I'll turn the rest of my time over to Mr. Anderson.
5 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Leon Benoit
Thank you, Mr. Trost.
Mr. Anderson, go ahead. You have over four minutes.
5 p.m.
Conservative
David Anderson Conservative Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm just wondering if you could explain a little bit more your role in this shutdown. Where do your folks spend their time? What do they do in their role? I understand they're removing fuel rods and they'll be draining the heavy water. Are your people on site? What do they actually do?
5 p.m.
President, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
I'll ask Mr. Elder to elaborate, but they are actually there, observing this and talking to them. They are involved in the various committees that are making decisions, etc. So for anything that's done outside the normal routine, our inspectors are there and involved in it automatically.
5 p.m.
Director General, Directorate of Nuclear Cycle and Facilities Regulation, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Just to provide some idea of what they do on a regular basis, one, they observe the inspections AECL has done. As was pointed out, this part of the reactor is very hard to get at; it's done remotely with cameras. We don't put our own cameras in, but we just watch what AECL does and we do our own analysis and detailed review of what comes out of those inspections.
We also do some oversight inspections, making sure that AECL continues to follow the international and national standards that are in their licence. We observe AECL's decision-making process. We sit in on meetings as observers. We're allowed to ask questions. We don't participate in those meetings and don't participate in the decisions, but we do actively ask questions and make sure they are looking at the full safety picture in any decisions they make.
We also have daily meetings, both with AECL management and the technical staff, on future plans. So we are looking at how they are considering repairs; what the repair options are, and if there are any safety issues related to those options; and also the monitoring of the environmental releases. While they remain very low, we are constantly in contact with them to make sure they remain well within the safe area.