Independent Environmental Monitoring Program (IEMP)

Hi, my name is Elias
and I work for the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
Today, I'd like to tell you about the CNSC's
new Independent Environmental Monitoring Program,
or what we like to call the "IEMP".
The IEMP's goal is to make sure that public health and the
environment around licensed nuclear facilities are protected
from the releases to the environment,
related to the activities of the facility.
Licensees are already required to implement an environmental
protection program.
Under their licence, they have to control releases and monitor
the levels of contaminants in the environment.
The IEMP is another tool to ensure their programs
are effective.
So, how does it work?
Through the IEMP, CNSC staff take samples of the air, water,
soil, sediment, vegetation, and some local foodstuffs,
like meat and produce, from publicly accessible areas
around the facility.
These could include parks, residential communities,
local farms and beaches.
These samples may be tested for radiological or non-radiological
contaminants here at the CNSC's state-of the art lab,
where they are analyzed by highly qualified scientists,
using industry best practices.
The contaminant levels are compared to applicable
guidelines and natural background levels to confirm
that there is no impact on the public or on the environment.
The data gathered from the samples and the analysees are then
published on CNSC website in our new user-friendly,
interactive IEMP webpage.
Let me show you how it works.
Click on the facility you are interested in.
The map that pops up has icons that show you what type of
sample was taken; for instance the droplet indicates water,
and the cloud represents air.
When you click on the icon,
you get an immediate snapshot of the results.
For more detailed information, you can scroll down to the full
data which is presented in a table.
We've compared the results to all guidelines to
make it easy for you to see if there are any health concerns.
The IEMP is being implemented for facilities in all segments
of the nuclear fuel cycle, including:
-uranium mines and mills,
-uranium and nuclear processing,
-nuclear power plants,
-research and medical isotope production,
and waste management.
It's important to note that the IEMP does not relieve licensees
of their responsibilities.
Licensees continue to be responsible for their own
environmental protection programs and the CNSC continues
to perform our regular compliance verification
activities.
These include reviews of compliance reports
and regular inspections.
The IEMP is one more way that we can confirm that our regulation
of the nuclear sector is effective in protecting
the health and safety of the public
and the environment near nuclear facilities.
For more information
and to see our interactive dashboard for yourself,
visit our website

Date modified:

2015-05-05