Skip to content Skip to institutional links

Common menu bar links

Breadcrumb Trail

Institutional links

ARCHIVED - Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

Warning This page has been archived.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats on the "Contact Us" page.

SECTION IV: OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

Performance of the Canadian Nuclear Power Industry

Each year, CNSC publishes an annual Staff Report on the Safety Performance of the Canadian Nuclear Power Industry (Industry Report), a comprehensive report card of the performance of Canada’s five nuclear power reactor sites – Pickering, Darlington, Gentilly, Bruce and Point Lepreau.

CNSC assesses licensee programs and their implementation separately, according to five ratings that range from “A” (exceeds requirements) to “E” (unacceptable). Grades are assigned for both the design of a program and its implementation, as well as for performance in each safety area and for programs within each safety area.

In the 2007 Industry Report, CNSC personnel concluded that overall, the nuclear power plant industry operated safely. The vast majority of safety areas and programs received “B” grades, indicating that licensees met CNSC expectations. CNSC assigned a “C” grade where licensee performance fell below CNSC requirements. Even though a “C” rating does not indicate an unacceptable safety risk, CNSC continues to closely monitor facilities that received “C” grades, to ensure that licensees or applicants are making every effort to mitigate the issues identified throughout the year. No facility received a grade lower than a “C” in 2007.

Report Card on Nuclear Power Plant Performance as of January 2008

Legend:

P: Program I: Implementation

A = Exceeds requirements
B = Meets requirements
C = Below requirements
D = Significantly below requirements
E = Unacceptable

Notes:

“C” grades are highlighted.
The Bruce and Pickering sites receive separate grades for their respective facilities: Bruce A and Bruce B, and Pickering A and Pickering B.

Safety Area/Program	P or I	Bruce			Darlington	Pickering			Gentilly-2	Point Lepreau
		A	B			A	B
Operating Performance	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Operating Performance	I	B	B		B	C	B		B	B
Organization and Plant Management	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Organization and Plant Management	I	B	B		B	C	B		B	B
Operations	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Operations	I	B	B		B	C	B		B	B
Occupational Health and Safety (non-radiological)	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Occupational Health and Safety (non-radiological)	I	A	A		A	B	B		B	B
Performance Assurance	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Performance Assurance	I	B	B		B	C	B		B	B
Quality Management	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Quality Management	I	B	B		B	C	B		C	B
Human Factors	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Human Factors	I	B	B		B	C	B		B	C
Training, Examination, and Certification	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Training, Examination, and Certification	I	C	B		B	B	B		B	B
Design and Analysis	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Design and Analysis	I	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Safety Analysis	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
	I	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Safety Issues	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Safety Issues	I	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Design	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Design	I	C	B		B	C	B		B	B
Equipment Fitness for Service	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Equipment Fitness for Service	I	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Maintenance	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Maintenance	I	C	B		B	B	B		B	B
Structural Integrity	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Structural Integrity	I	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Reliability	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	A
Reliability	I	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Equipment Qualification	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Equipment Qualification	I	B	B		C	B	B		B	B
Emergency Preparedness	P	A	A		A	A	A		A	A
Emergency Preparedness	I	A	A		A	A	A		B	B
Environmental Protection	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Environmental Protection	I	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Radiation Protection	P	B	B		B	B	B		B	B
Radiation Protection	I	B	B		A	B	B		B	B
Site Security	P	Secret
Site Security	I	Secret
Safeguards	P	B		B	B	B		B	B	B
Safeguards	I	B		B	B	B		B	B	B

External Performance Standards

Activity	Performance standard	Target	Performance 2005-06	Performance 2006-07	Performance 2007-2008
Compliance¹²
Verification: Upon completion of the verification activity, CNSC will:
Issue Type I Inspection Report¹³	Within 60 business days	80%	50%	58%	69%
Issue Type II Inspection Report¹⁴	Within 40 business days	80%	86%	90%	85%
Issue Desktop Review Report¹³	Within 60 business days	90%	70%	79%	95%
Enforcement: upon an Order being made, CNSC will:
Confirm, amend, revoke or replace the Order (see regulatory guide G-273, Making, Reviewing and Receiving Orders Under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act)	Within 10 business days	100%	100%	100%	100%
Licensing¹²: For requests pertaining to an existing licence, the CNSC will:
Screen the request for completeness and issue notification that the licensing request is / is not complete^15, ¹⁶	Within 20 business days	90%	100%	97%	56%
Issue a licensing decision when a public hearing is not required, assuming an EA under the CEAA is not required	Within 80 business days	80%	97%	98%	83%
Issue a licensing decision when a public hearing is required, assuming an EA under the CEAA is not required (see INFO-0715, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission Public Hearings on Licensing Matters)¹⁶	Within 160 business days	90%	100%	83%	100%
Access to Information
Respond to requests under the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act¹⁷	Within legislated time periods as stated in the acts	100%	94%	Access to information – 82% Privacy – 100%	Access to information – 61% Privacy – 100%

Activity	Performance standard	Target	Performance 2005-06	Performance 2006-07	Performance 2007-2008
External Communications
Place public hearings advertisements	Within deadlines stipulated in the regulations	100%	95%	100%	100%
Response time to public inquiries	Same-day acknowledgement, with response time for completion of request depending upon complexity:	100%	100%	100%	100%
	Low – same day	100%	100%	100%	100%
	Medium – within 5 business days	100%	95%	95%	95%
	High – within 10 business days	100%	80%	75%	80%

Commission Tribunal Decisions

Number of decisions in 2007–08	43
Average number of days to release decision	16
Decisions released within 30 days	41
Decisions released after 30 days	2

CNSC’s Regulatory Plan

*Regulations*	*Expected Results*	*Measurement Criteria*	*2007-2008 Results Achieved*
Nuclear Substances and Radiation Devices Regulations- Amendments	Address issues noted by the Parliamentary Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations Correct regulatory deficiencies that have come to light since the regulations came into force on May 31, 2000 Adopt the latest exemption values in IAEA Basic Safety Standards	Completion of the amendments to the regulations.	The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission made the regulations on March 14, 2008. The regulations were registered April 17, 2008 and were published in Canada Gazette Part II April 30, 2008. Amendments completed and regulatory deficiencies corrected and issues addressed IAEA standards adopted.
Class II Nuclear Facilities and Prescribed Equipment Regulations - Amendments	Address issues that have been noted by the Parliamentary Standing Joint Committee on Scrutiny of Regulations Correct certain regulatory deficiencies that have come to light since the regulations came into force on May 31, 2000.	Completion of the amendments to the regulations.	The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission made the regulations on March 14, 2008. The regulations were registered April 17, 2008 and were published in Canada Gazette Part II April 30, 2008. Amendments completed and regulatory deficiencies corrected and issues addressed.
General Nuclear Safety and Control Regulations and Class I Nuclear Facilities Regulations-Amendments	Consequential amendments as a result of amendments to Nuclear Substances and Radiation Devices Regulations and Class II Nuclear Facilities and Prescribed Equipment Regulations	Completion of the amendments to the regulations.	The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission made the regulations on March 14, 2008. The regulations were registered April 17, 2008 and were published in Canada Gazette Part II April 30, 2008. Amendments completed.
General Nuclear Safety and Control Regulations - Class I Nuclear Facilities Regulations - Class II Nuclear Facilities and Prescribed Equipment Regulations - Nuclear Substances and Radiation Devices Regulations Amendments	Provide for the incorporation of a number of international standards and correct minor deficiencies or inconsistencies.	Completion of amendments to the regulations.	The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission made the regulations on March 26, 2008. The regulations were registered April 17, 2008 and were published in Canada Gazette Part II April 30, 2008. Amendments completed and regulatory deficiencies corrected and issues addressed.
Nuclear Safeguards Regulations (new regulations)	Establish generic safeguards regulations in lieu of existing safeguards licence conditions to facilitate compliance with international safeguards agreements	Regulations completed.	No significant work done on this project since June 2007 because of staffing and job priority issues. Timeline will have to be reassessed.
Nuclear Non-proliferation Import and Export Control Regulations - Amendments	Ensure that the export and import provisions and licensing requirements are compatible with developments in international agreements and guidance Address issues raised by the Parliamentary Standing Joint Committee on regulations Clarify minor ambiguities	Completion of the amendments to the regulations.	Technical drafting instructions were prepared and reviewed with the Department of Justice. CNSC staff also made the proposed draft amendments available for pre-consultation with interested government agencies and exporters/importers from August to October 2007; comments received informed modifications to the drafting instructions.
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission Rules of Procedure and Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission By-laws-Amendments	Update Rules of Procedure and By-laws to reflect best practices in the area of administrative tribunals.	Rules of Procedure and By-laws updated.	Triage questionnaire was approved by Treasury Board Secretariat in January 2008. CNSC has developed drafting instructions for Justice Canada to review and to begin drafting regulations.
Regulations Amending the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission Cost Recovery Fees Regulations (Miscellaneous Program)-Amendments	Clarify certain sections of the regulations and to address the concerns of the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations with respect to these regulations	Completion of the amendments to the regulations.	The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission made the regulations on February 21, 2008. The regulations were registered April 17, 2008 and were published in Canada Gazette Part II April 30, 2008. Amendments completed - clarified certain sections and issues addressed.
Regulations Amending Certain Instruments made under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act (Miscellaneous Program)-Amendments	To correct minor inconsistencies between the English and French versions in the Regulations and Rules listed hereunder: General Nuclear Safety and Control Regulations Radiation Protection Regulations Class I Nuclear Facilities Regulations Uranium Mines and Mills Regulations Nuclear Non-proliferation Import and Export Control Regulations Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission Rules of Procedure	Completion of the amendments to the regulations.	The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission made the regulations on June 21, 2007. They came into effect September 18, 2007 and were published in Canada Gazette Part II October 3, 2007. Amendments completed –inconsistencies corrected.
Class II Nuclear Facilities Regulations-Amendments	Give a regulatory basis to the current practice of approving Radiation Safety Officers at Class II facilities	Completion of the amendments to the regulations.	Justice Canada and CNSC are working on the wording for the proposed amendments to the Class II regulations in preparation for the formal pre-consultation.

¹² Compliance and licensing results are based upon available performance data.

¹³ Using CNSC’s risk-informed approach to regulation, initial priority was given to the completion of reports whose results were of greater significance.

¹⁴ In power reactors, unless major issues arise, findings from field inspections and control room inspections will be reported on a quarterly basis, within 40 business days of end of quarter.

¹⁵ Initial priority was given to screening of requests from licensees that are of higher risk.

¹⁶ The screening and hearing processes do not apply to licensing and certification activities that are related to nuclear substances, radiation devices, Class II facilities, prescribed equipment, transport and packaging.

¹⁷ CNSC received 120 requests for access to information during 2007–08, an approximately 67increase from the 72 requests in 2006–07. Of the 2007–08 requests, more than half were received in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year and many were of significant length and complexity. CNSC has added two full-time employees to its Access to Information and Privacy Program and implemented additional measures to ensure full future compliance with legislated timelines in the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.