Regulatory Oversight Report for Uranium Mines and Mills in Canada: 2014
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Regulatory Oversight Report for Uranium Mines and Mills in Canada: 2014 Regulatory Oversight Report for Uranium Mines and Mills in Canada: 2014 © Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) 2015 PWGSC catalogue number: CC171-23/2014E-PDF ISBN: 978-0-660-04013-4 Extracts from this document may be reproduced for individual use without permission provided the source is fully acknowledged. However, reproduction in whole or in part for purposes of resale or redistribution requires prior written permission from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Également publié en français sous le titre: Rapport de surveillance réglementaire des mines et des usines de concentration d’uranium au Canada : 2014 Document availability This document can be viewed on the CNSC website at nuclearsafety.gc.ca. To request a copy of the document in English or French, please contact: Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 280 Slater Street P.O. Box 1046, Station B Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5S9 CANADA Tel.: 613-995-5894 or 1-800-668-5284 (in Canada only) Facsimile: 613-995-5086 Email: [email protected] Website: nuclearsafety.gc.ca Facebook: facebook.com/CanadianNuclearSafetyCommission YouTube: youtube.com/cnscccsn Twitter: @CNSC_CCSN Publishing history July 2016 Cover images From left to right: Cigar Lake Mine McArthur River Mine Rabbit Lake Mine and Mill Key Lake Mill McClean Lake Mill Regulatory Oversight Report for Uranium Mines and Mills in Canada: 2014 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 1 REGULATORY OVERSIGHT REPORT FOR ................................................................. 3 URANIUM MINES AND MILLS IN CANADA: 2014 ....................................................... 3 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 3 1.1 Background ................................................................................................ 3 1.2 CNSC regulatory efforts ............................................................................. 4 1.3 Eastern Athabasca Regional Monitoring Program – country foods ............ 5 1.4 The CNSC’s Independent Environmental Monitoring Program – 2014 Key Lake mill ..................................................................................................... 7 1.5 Key Lake calciner events: unplanned releases of calcined yellowcake in the work environment............................................................................... 10 1.6 Public information and community engagement ...................................... 13 1.7 Mount Polley event – CNSC follow-up ..................................................... 14 2 OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................ 16 2.1 Radiation protection ................................................................................. 18 2.2 Environmental protection ......................................................................... 21 2.3 Conventional health and safety ................................................................ 32 3 CIGAR LAKE OPERATION ............................................................................... 35 3.1 Performance ............................................................................................ 37 3.2 Radiation protection ................................................................................. 38 3.3 Environmental protection ......................................................................... 39 3.4 Conventional health and safety ................................................................ 46 4 MCARTHUR RIVER OPERATION ..................................................................... 48 4.1 Performance ............................................................................................ 49 4.2 Radiation protection ................................................................................. 50 4.3 Environmental protection ......................................................................... 51 4.4 Conventional health and safety ................................................................ 58 5 RABBIT LAKE OPERATION ............................................................................. 60 5.1 Performance ............................................................................................ 61 5.2 Radiation protection ................................................................................. 63 5.3 Environmental protection ......................................................................... 65 5.4 Conventional health and safety ................................................................ 74 6 KEY LAKE OPERATION ................................................................................... 77 6.1 Performance ............................................................................................ 78 6.2 Radiation protection ................................................................................. 79 6.3 Environmental protection ......................................................................... 80 6.4 Conventional health and safety ................................................................ 88 - i - Regulatory Oversight Report for Uranium Mines and Mills in Canada: 2014 7 MCCLEAN LAKE OPERATION ......................................................................... 90 7.1 Performance ............................................................................................ 92 7.2 Radiation protection ................................................................................. 93 7.3 Environmental protection ......................................................................... 94 7.4 Conventional health and safety .............................................................. 102 GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................ 104 APPENDIX A: SAFETY AND CONTROL AREA FRAMEWORK FOR URANIUM MINES AND MILLS .................................................................................................... 107 APPENDIX B: RATING METHODOLOGY AND DEFINITIONS ................................. 111 APPENDIX C: TRENDS IN SAFETY AND CONTROL AREA RATINGS .................. 112 APPENDIX D: FINANCIAL GUARANTEES ............................................................... 115 APPENDIX F: WORKER DOSE DATA ...................................................................... 126 APPENDIX G: ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTABLE SPILLS IN 2014 AND CNSC SPILL RATING DEFINITIONS ............................................................................................... 130 APPENDIX H: LOST-TIME INCIDENTS IN 2014 ....................................................... 133 APPENDIX I: LINKS TO PROVINCIAL AND LICENSEE WEBSITES ....................... 134 APPENDIX J: CHANGES TO LICENCE CONDITIONS HANDBOOKS, 2014 .......... 135 APPENDIX K: ACRONYMS ....................................................................................... 136 - ii - Regulatory Oversight Report for Uranium Mines and Mills in Canada: 2014 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report presents the performance of the operating uranium mine and mill facilities regulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). It covers the 2014 calendar year and, when applicable, shows trends and compares information to previous years. Furthermore, it includes information on the CNSC’s Independent Environmental Monitoring Program, follows up on the two 2015 Key Lake calciner events, and incorporates changes from Commission member recommendations made during the Commission meeting for the Regulatory Oversight Report for Uranium Mines and Mills in Canada : 2013 . The report focuses on the three safety and control areas (SCAs) of radiation protection, environmental protection and conventional health and safety, which cover the key performance indicators for these facilities. The report also highlights rating changes for all 14 SCAs, along with major events and significant facility modifications. Finally, it describes measures taken by licensees, the CNSC and other regulatory bodies to protect the environment, and the health and safety of the public and workers. Evaluations conducted by CNSC staff concluded that uranium mine and mill facilities in Canada operated safely during 2014 and met the following performance expectations: . Radiation protection measures were effective and doses remained as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA), and well below the regulatory limit. Conventional health and safety programs continued to protect workers. The environmental protection programs were effective, with all spills cleaned up appropriately with no residual impact to the environment. This conclusion was based on assessments of licensee activities, site inspections, reviews of reports submitted by licensees, event and incident reviews, Commission hearings and meetings, and ongoing exchanges of information with licensees. - 1 - Regulatory Oversight Report for Uranium Mines and Mills in Canada: 2014 >This page was intentionally left blank< - 2 - Regulatory Oversight Report for Uranium Mines and Mills in Canada: 2014 REGULATORY OVERSIGHT REPORT FOR URANIUM MINES AND MILLS IN CANADA: 2014 1 Introduction 1.1 Background The Regulatory Oversight Report for Uranium Mines and Mills in Canada: 2014 summarizes the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) staff’s assessment of the safety performance