Radionuclide contamination in Canada: A scoping review

New Sustainability Perspectives on Pollutant Releases from Canada’s Nuclear Sector

“…Further studies on nature and magnitude of radionuclide releases from nonreporting CNSC licensees and facilities outside CNSC and MDMER's scope may be useful toward understanding whether additional reporting may be appropriate; however, the aforementionned review of radionuclide concentrations in various media spanning all of Canada suggests that these sources are not contributing significantly to overall exposures, on a national scale. 6 What Environmental Compartments Are Receiving These Emissions? The emission types covered in the CNSC release data comprise routine releases to both air, as "stack emissions" and to water, as "direct discharges" all as annual values in Bq per substance per facility.…”

“…Further analysis may also be warranted on the annual magnitude of these MDMER releases for comparability/compatibility with the nuclear sector, and other PRTR data, as well as considering enabling such crosstalk among public release inventories on a regular basis. Further studies on nature and magnitude of radionuclide releases from nonreporting CNSC licensees and facilities outside CNSC and MDMER’s scope may be useful toward understanding whether additional reporting may be appropriate; however, the aforementionned review of radionuclide concentrations in various media spanning all of Canada suggests that these sources are not contributing significantly to overall exposures, on a national scale …”

“…Accidental releases are not included with the exception of the direct discharges to water of Radium-226 and uranium in 2017 and 2018 from the Port Hope Waste Management Facility (ON), though based on available IEMP monitoring data for those years, concentrations in water did not increase, nor exceed guidelines for the protection of human health. 6,52 Such nonroutine release information appears to be available separately through the CNSC's nuclear-related event reports and could be a useful addition to the published radionuclide data set for a complete picture on radionuclide releases (routine and accidental). Nonstack emissions (i.e., fugitives) to air were not included in the CNSC release data set, whereas by contrast, fugitive releases are generally required to be reported to the NPRI (delineated from stack sources) for qualifying substances, as are leaks/spills/ other nonpoint sources from a reporting facility.…”

“…Routine radionuclide releases were mainly to air (82%), with water releases comprising 17% of the total over 2013–2021­(see Figures SI-2, SI-3, and SI-5). Accidental releases are not included with the exception of the direct discharges to water of Radium-226 and uranium in 2017 and 2018 from the Port Hope Waste Management Facility (ON), though based on available IEMP monitoring data for those years, concentrations in water did not increase, nor exceed guidelines for the protection of human health. , Such nonroutine release information appears to be available separately through the CNSC’s nuclear-related event reports and could be a useful addition to the published radionuclide data set for a complete picture on radionuclide releases (routine and accidental)…”

“…Since the early 20th century, Canada has increasingly incorporated nuclear technology into a range of applications including those related to energy, medicine, lighting, tracer analyses, and weapons. − Concurrent public concerns over radioactivity exposure from these uses has driven a large body of environmental research and monitoring in Canada. A recent scoping review of this literature showed that, while regional and temporal variations exist, natural and anthropogenic radionuclides are somewhat ubiquitous in the Canadian environment . The review found that the state and provenance of anthropogenic radionuclide contamination in Canada is generally attributed to fallout from historical nuclear weapons testing and nuclear accidents (satellite crashes, Chernobyl and Fukushima power plant accidents), and to a smaller degree from emissions from nuclear facilities, including active and historical uranium mines and mills, nuclear research facilities, nuclear processing facilities, and nuclear power plants.…”