In order for TRIUMF to conduct its operations, we must regularly participate in a series of inspections and evaluations by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). TRIUMF is issued an operation license by the CNSC; the license was renewed in April 2007 and is valid until March 2012 when TRIUMF will apply for a renewal. During this time period, the CNSC Project Officer assigned to TRIUMF verifies compliance with the license conditions and the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, along with performing periodic inspections and audits of TRIUMF’s regulatory programs. If TRIUMF were deemed to be performing unsatisfactorily by the CNSC in these inspections and evaluations, then the facility would be shut down until the concerns could be resolved.
On November 3rd 2010, the CNSC held a public hearing to be updated on the status of TRIUMF’s operations at the facility. Anyone can attend public hearings as an observer or apply to make a presentation or written submission. At the hearing, TRIUMF senior management made a presentation alongside CNSC staff and answered questions from the Commission. Both TRIUMF and the CNSC staff submit a Commission Member Document (CMD) prior to the hearing. The CNSC staff CMD focuses mainly on the results of their inspections and audits while the TRIUMF CMD reports the status of our various regulatory programs (such as environmental management, radiation protection, fire safety, training, and quality management). The questions and decisions of the Commission Tribunal are based on these documents and the presentations made during the hearing. The Commission was pleased with the progress TRIUMF has made since its licensing in 2007 as Commission member Alan Graham stated, “…I’d like to just go on record as congratulating [TRIUMF] for the tremendous improvement that you’ve shown since 2007.”
TRIUMF Director Nigel Lockyer commented after the hearing, “The strong commitment of TRIUMF employees to safety and quality assurance ensures that we continue to operate a safe facility, perform world class science, and produce an array of medical isotopes for the Canadian and international healthcare communities.”
Overall, TRIUMF has been performing well in all areas of analysis with minimal factors that could affect employees or the environment, no significant incident reports, and all areas of concern at the time of license renewal in 2007 have been fully addressed.
To view the hearing yourself, please visit http://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/commission/webcasts/november-03-2010-public-meeting.cfm (Section 3) or you may view the transcript of the hearing at http://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/commission/pdf/2010-11-03-Transcript-Meeting.pdf
-- Lindsay Davies, Communications Assistant