Development of a Comprehensive Safeguards Regulatory Document for the Canadian Nuclear Industry

Abstract of the technical paper/presentation presented at:
Safeguards Symposium 2018
November 2–5, 2018

Prepared by:
Jennifer Sample, Patrick Burton, Vibha Bahl and David Moroz
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

Abstract:

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) is the State Regulatory Authority (SRA) in Canada and has the mandate to ensure the successful implementation of the Canada-International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and Additional Protocol. The CNSC uses a variety of regulatory tools to implement safeguards requirements, including, inter alia, regulations, licence conditions, and regulatory documents. Up until February 2018, the CNSC used regulatory document RD-336, Accounting and Reporting of Nuclear Material to place safeguards requirements on appropriate licensees. This was superseded by REGDOC-2.13.1, Safeguards and Nuclear Material Accountancy. As part of the CNSC’s policy to review regulatory documents on 5-year intervals, a review of RD-336 was undertaken in 2016. The decision was made to transform it from a document specific to nuclear materials accountancy to one which includes all safeguards requirements. The opportunity was also taken to consolidate reporting requirements and to introduce graded safeguards requirements wherever possible. A drafting team comprising safeguards experts and regulatory policy experts engaged in a year-long drafting process which included multiple internal reviews by CNSC staff and management, followed by a stakeholder consultation process. This paper desscribes the CNSC’s regulatory philosophy and regulatory framework, and the scope of the modernization of safeguards requirements which have been undertaken in the production of REGDOC-2.13.1.

To obtain a copy of the abstract’s document, please contact us at cnsc.info.ccsn@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca or call 613-995-5894 or 1-800-668-5284 (in Canada). When contacting us, please provide the title and date of the abstract.