Bruce Power is proudly delivering on its commitment to the safety of its employees, the environment and the community, while continuing to deliver clean, reliable electricity to Ontario and cancer-fighting medical isotopes for the global medical community, as the company looks forward to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s (CNSC) annual review of its safety performance.
On Dec. 13, the CNSC staff will present their assessment of nuclear power plant and nuclear waste facility safe operations and performance to the CNSC Commission during a public meeting as part of the nuclear industry regulator’s annual regulatory oversight review. The CNSC has a presence at each nuclear station in Canada and CNSC staff members have continuous access to inspect Bruce Power’s stations and review its activities.
Each year, CNSC staff prepare regulatory oversight reports (ROR) on nuclear power plant safety performance for all licensed Canadian nuclear facilities for the previous year, which are presented to the Commission during a public meeting. The reports evaluate licensees’ safety performance across 14 Safety Control Areas (some examples include: Environmental Protection, Radiation Protection, Conventional Health & Safety, Operating Performance, Emergency Management and Fire Protection).
In May, the CNSC invited Indigenous communities, members of the public and interested parties to comment on the ROR, in writing before the end of October, or present comments orally at the public Commission meeting in December.
“Safety is Bruce Power’s number one value and we are proud of our longstanding safety performance record, and particularly of our employees’ steadfast dedication to performing their work safely and with quality each and every day,” said Mike Rinker, Bruce Power’s Vice-President, Regulatory, Environment and Sustainability. “Bruce Power is committed to continuously improving its industry leading conventional and radiological safety programs, as well as an emergency preparedness program that’s always ready to respond. Bruce Power is committed to being open and transparent and values the opportunity to hear from intervenors as part of the regulatory oversight review process.”
Bruce Power’s current 10-year operating licence authorizes the company to generate electricity from its eight reactors units, produce cobalt-60 from the four units housed in Bruce B and lutetium-177 from Unit 7. On Sept. 20, Bruce Power published a report and participated in a public meeting to update the CNSC on its licensed activities over the past five years and its plans for the next five. These include setting operational run records in multiple reactor units, completing three large-scale emergency response exercises since 2016, the installation of a medical isotope production system, and the completion of the Unit 6 Major Component Replacement Project.
Earlier this year, Bruce Power was awarded a Top Innovative Practice (TIP) Award for its Containment Filtered Ventilation System, a game-changing safety system developed with Framatome and implemented as part of the company’s post-Fukushima improvements.
The CNSC ROR meeting will be held Dec. 13 in Ottawa. The public is encouraged to watch the public meeting online to observe the CNSC staff report on nuclear power plant and nuclear waste facility safety performance, and the public participation with the CNSC Commission. Meeting materials, including the ROR and intervenor submissions, can be found here. For additional information about Bruce Power, as well as to ask questions and provide feedback, please visit Bruce Power’s Community Portal or email info@brucepower.com.
About Bruce Power
Formed in 2001, Bruce Power is an electricity company based in Bruce County, Ontario. We are powered by our people. Our 4,200 employees are the foundation of our accomplishments and are proud of the role they play in safely delivering clean, reliable, low-cost nuclear power to families and businesses across the province and life-saving medical isotopes across the globe. Bruce Power has worked hard to build strong roots in Ontario and is committed to protecting the environment and supporting the communities in which we live. Learn more at www.brucepower.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
