Sarah Watt

Wastes and Decommissioning

Before joining the CNSC in 2009, Sarah worked in the private sector on conventional waste management and infrastructure projects. When she began working at the CNSC, she leveraged her expertise to lead environmental reviews of historic and operating mine sites, nuclear power plants and other facilities in the nuclear fuel cycle. Sarah currently manages the licensing and compliance activities at low-, intermediate- and high-level waste management facilities regulated by the CNSC.

Expertise and education

Sarah holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental and conservation sciences (land reclamation and soil remediation) from the University of Alberta.

Raised on Vancouver Island, Sarah moved across Canada to improve her French language skills and completed a maîtrise en science at Université Laval in Québec City.

Roles and responsibilities

As a CNSC inspector, Sarah has led compliance activities at waste management facilities, operating and decommissioned nuclear power plants, historic decommissioned mine sites and legacy contaminated sites. Her current role involves providing subject-matter expertise in radioactive waste management and decommissioning across the nuclear fuel cycle, including in the areas of mining, fuel and energy production, environmental remediation and waste management.

Sarah is the CNSC’s representative in various international groups that work on issues surrounding waste management and decommissioning practices. She also contributes to the development of waste and decommissioning standards that are modernizing Canada’s regulatory framework.

The most rewarding part of Sarah’s role is training and mentoring future waste experts and CNSC inspectors.