Regulatory Challenges to Managing Canadian Legacy Uranium Sites: Removing Barriers to Remediation

Transcription

1 Regulatory Challenges to Managing Canadian Legacy Uranium Sites: Removing Barriers to Remediation Ron Stenson Senior Project Officer, WDD nuclearsafety.gc.ca Presented to: IAEA International Working Forum on Regulatory Supervision of Legacy Sites (RSLS) October 22-24, 2013; Vienna e-docs #

2 Port Radium Uranium Mine c Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 2

3 Context Legacy (orphaned/abandoned) mine sites are generally defined as closed mines whose ownership has reverted to the Government, either because the owner has gone out of business, or as is the case with some historic properties, because the owner was the Government. In Canada, some of these sites were historically operated by previous Governments, while the rest were privately operated. In Canada over 10,000 legacy mine sites have been identified. Around 80 of these are Uranium/Radium mines. Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 3

4 Uranium Mining in Canada Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 4

5 Barriers to Remediation Castrilli (2002) identified three major types of barriers to the remediation of Legacy mines in Canada: i. regulatory or institutional barriers; ii. liability disincentives, and iii. lack of collaborative opportunities Elliot Lake, c Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 5

6 Mining Legislation - Canada The regulation of mining in Canada is primarily the responsibility of the Provincial Governments. Each Province has a Mining Act and regulates exploration and all aspects of mining within their land area. The only exception to this began during World War II and the mining of metals of strategic importance to national interests, including uranium. In 1946 the Canadian Government established the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) under the Atomic Energy Control Act (AECA) in Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 6

7 Regulating a Strategic Industry : AECB s only issued permits for the sale of uranium through the Government owned Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited. The regulation of uranium mining operations and any safety standards were deferred to the Provinces who were already performing this function. Pitchblend Port Radium NWT, c Uranophane Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 7

8 Under-regulated Mining Boom 1950 s: a major, but short, boom in uranium mining ending abruptly in Elliot Lake Ont., c.1959 Madawaska Ont, c.1963 Beaverlodge N. Sask., c Gunnar N. Sask., c Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 8

9 Historic Uranium Mills Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 9

10 Changing Regulatory Environment During the 1970s the AECB s focus shifted to developing regulations to address health and safety, including the reemerging uranium mining industry. Quirke, Ont. McArthur River, N. Sask. Stanleigh, Ont. Rabbit Lake, N. Sask. Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 10

11 Uranium Mining Regulatory Oversight - Canada Provincial Mining Acts or other Lands, Safety Legislation Atomic Energy Control Act (1946) Nuclear Safety Control Act (2000) AECB 1 st Uranium Mine/Mill Licences Introduction of NSCA (2000) Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 11

12 Legacy Uranium Mines Nearly 100 uranium mines in Canada operated before Uranium mills processed materials from these mines. All of these mills were associated with a specific mine and accepted materials from smaller feeder mines. None of the ~ 80 feeder mines have any tailings associated with them. All of the ~ 80 feeder mines have been abandoned and are now the responsibility of Governments to complete remediation activities. Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 12

13 Legacy Uranium Mines Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 13

14 Risk Assessment Before imposing the new requirements on the government it was necessary to understand the risks that existed at the sites. All legacy mill tailings sites required a licence and appropriate remediation to protect the environment. The legacy sites without tailings however, were assessed for both radiologic and conventional risks to the public and the environment. Although conventional hazards exist at some of these sites, there is no reasonable risk of a member of the public receiving the public dose limit at any of these sites. All existing hazards were reported to the appropriate authorities. Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 14

15 Removing Barriers After completing the risk assessment, in 2004 Commission staff requested that the Commission grant an exemption from the requirement to hold a CNSC licence at: Idle uranium mines without uranium tailings, administered under provincial or federal mining or lands management legislation. These idle mines are identified in Appendix A of CMD These idle mines are, in all physical and radiological characteristics, indistinguishable from conventional mines. Under any reasonable circumstance, a member of the public would not receive a dose greater than 10% of the public dose limit during "unstructured" use (<100 h/yr). Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 15

16 Results The Granting of the exemption by the Commission resulted in the lowering of the regulatory barriers identified by Castrilli by: Eliminating duplication and overlap in regulatory oversight. Less financial burden in the planning and implementation of remediation of these relatively low risk legacy sites. More realistic local perceptions of risk. Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 16

17 Results Many of the sites in the NWT and Saskatchewan have been or are being remediated regulated by local authorities. The hazards identified and reported to the Ontario government have been addressed. Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 17

18 A.Y. Jackson: Radium Mine, Port Radium Remediated Legacy Site, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission 18