What does the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission stand for, what does it mean, and what is the meaning of the abbreviations?

Nuclear power and materials in Canada are regulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.Radionuclide used in the treatment of cancer, the operation of uranium mines and refinery, and the use of radioactive sources for oil exploration are all regulated by the CNSC.The Minister of Natural Resources reports to the Parliament of Canada on the activities of the CNSC.

Under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, the CNSC's official mandate involves four major areas.

The purpose of the regulatory system is to protect people and the environment from human-made radiation.Licensing processes require licensees to prove that their operations adhere to regulatory standards.The regulatory system is based on the principle that no technology is fail proof, so licensees must include multiple layers of protection whenever radioactive materials are used.

Ensuring that Canada's international obligations are met with respect to activities related to nuclear and radioactive materials is the responsibility of the CNSC.The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons includes Canada's safeguards obligations.Nuclear materials, equipment, technology, and dual-use items are all licensed by the CNSC.The Governor in Council designates the highest-ranking member of the commission to be the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission's president and chief executive officer.The President is a full-time member of the Commission.Regulations governing the use of nuclear materials are created by the Commission Tribunal.

A secretariat of more than 800 employees supports the Commission Tribunal.Health, safety, security, and the environment are protected by the staff of the CNSC.Nuclear power plants are evaluated and contributed to the development of international nuclear regulatory standards.[3]

The commission has no ties to the nuclear industry and is set up at arm's length from the government.

The Commission makes its decisions transparent.Interested parties and members of the public are able to be heard at Public Commission Hearings which are live and often held in facility host communities to make them as accessible as possible for local residents.

The Commission gives extensive reasons for its decisions, which are based on information that includes public input as well as the recommendations of expert staff.

In order to give the public, aboriginal groups and other stakeholders the opportunity to request funding from the CNSC to participate in its regulatory processes, the Participant Funding Program was established in 2010.

The CNSC's continued commitment to meaningful public and aboriginal participation in nuclear review processes is demonstrated in the PFP.

The Independent Environmental Monitoring Program was launched by the CNSC.Ensuring that the public and environment around licensed nuclear facilities are safe is a goal of the IEMP.

The IEMP involves independent sampling of publicly accessible areas around nuclear facilities in all segments of the nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium mines and mills, processing facilities, nuclear power plants, research and medical isotope production facilities and waste management facilities.

Public areas include parks, residential communities, and beaches.It is possible to have samples of air, water, soil, plants or local foods.They are tested for radiological and non-radiological contaminants using the best industry practices.Natural background levels are compared to guidelines to confirm that the public is safe and that no health impacts are expected.

The data is published on the website.The dashboard has a map and a table with icons showing sampling locations and results.

The IEMP doesn't relieve licensees of their responsibilities, they must still be responsible for their own protection programs.Regular inspections and reviews of environmental protection programs and compliance reports are still strictly checked by the CNSC.

The Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission allowed the commission to assess its regulatory activities and infrastructure against international standards and best practices.[4]

The Nuclear Safety and Control Act established the CNSC.The former Atomic Energy Control Board was founded in 1946.

In November 2007, Atomic Energy of Canada LIMITED (AECL), acting upon the advice of the CNSC that it was in violation of its site operating licence for Chalk River Laboratories ( CRL), voluntarily chose to extend a routine shutdown.The issue involved two of NRU's eight coolant pumps which, upon completion of several safety upgrades, would be credited as being able to survive a major earthquake.Before and after the October 2006 awarding of CRL's operating licence, the two pumps had not yet been connected to a seismically-qualified backup power supply.The last line of defence in the event of an earthquake or other primary power system failure is the two pumps.

60 percent of the world's supply of medical radioisotopes was produced by Canada.In order to operate the NRU reactor with a single pump connected to seismically qualified backup power supplies, a safety case had to be made.The submission was not accepted by the CNSC.