Summary: Regulatory Oversight Report for Canadian Nuclear Power Generating Sites for 2021

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission acknowledges that nuclear power generating stations are located on the traditional territories and homelands of many Indigenous Nations and communities and are covered by several treaties.

The regulatory oversight report describes the regulatory oversight and safety performance of nuclear power generating sites, consisting of nuclear power plants (NPPs) and their associated waste management facilities (WMFs), in Canada in 2021. For certain topics, updates on developments in 2022 are also described.

These facilities are covered in this report:

• Darlington Nuclear Generating Station (DNGS), which includes the Tritium Removal Facility and Retube Waste Processing Building
• Darlington Waste Management Facility (DWMF), which includes the Retube Waste Storage Building (RWSB)
• Pickering Nuclear Generating Station (PNGS)
• Pickering Waste Management Facility (PWMF)
• Bruce A Nuclear Generating Station and Bruce B Nuclear Generating Station (BNGS A and B)
• Western Waste Management Facility (WWMF)
• Radioactive Waste Operations Site-1 (RWOS-1)
• Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station (PLNGS), which includes the Solid Radioactive Waste Management Facility
• Gentilly-2 Facilities

Based on assessments of findings from compliance verification activities for each facility in the context of the 14 CNSC safety and control areas (SCAs), CNSC staff concluded that the NPPs and WMFs operated safely in 2021. The conclusion was supported by other observations, including the following:

• No serious process failures occurred at the NPPs. The number of unplanned power reductions, transients, and trips in the reactors was low and acceptable to CNSC staff. All unplanned power reductions and transients in the reactors were properly controlled and adequately managed.
• Radiation doses to the public and to workers at the NPPs and WMFs were well below the regulatory limits.
• The frequency and severity of non-radiological injuries to workers were low.
• Radiological releases to the environment from the NPPs and WMFs were below regulatory limits.
• Licensees met the applicable requirements related to Canada’s international obligations; safeguards inspection results were acceptable to the IAEA.

All SCAs were rated as “satisfactory” at all NPPs, with the exception of the security SCA at both the Darlington and Pickering NPPs, which were both assessed as being “below expectations”.

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

Regulatory Oversight Report for Canadian Nuclear Power Generating Sites - Regulatory Oversight Report for Canadian Nuclear Power Generating Sites for 2021 - Open Government Portal