PLAIN TALK

Welcome to the fall edition of CONTACT. It goes without saying that working safely is at the forefront of everything we do at AECL. The safety message is communicated frequently and consistently, and our leaders are expected to lead by example.

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PINAWA AND WHITESHELL CELEBRATE 50TH BIRTHDAY!

After a year of preparations and countless hours of effort by many volunteers and staff, Pinawa held its 50th Birthday Celebration—and what a celebration it was!

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In this issue of CONTACT

As reported in earlier editions of CONTACT, the construction of new facilities in the Whiteshell Laboratories (WL) Waste Management

Area (WMA) is required to execute our mission to safely and efficiently decommission the site in a sound environmental manner.

The first facility to be built was a Shielded Modular Above-Ground Storage (SMAGS) building which provides 4,000 m3 of long term, safe, usable Low Level Waste (LLW) storage volume. A Soil Storage Compound was also constructed for the long-term safe storage of up to 2,000 m3 of slightly contaminated soils and ground materials.

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PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES

Fall 2013 • Volume 2, Issue 2

Joan Miller and WL Leadership Team

(L to R: Dwayne Onagi (Acting Director, WL Facilities), Grant Koroll (Director, WL Strategic Planning), Allan Caron (Director, Programs & Regulatory Compliance), Craig Michaluk (Director, Project Delivery), Joan Miller (AECL Vice President Decommissioning & Waste Management, and WL Site Licence Holder), and Russ Mellor (General Manager and Site Head, Whiteshell Laboratories)

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Welcome to the fall edition of CONTACT. It goes without

saying that working safely is at the forefront of everything we do at AECL. The safety message is communicated frequently and consistently, and our leaders are expected to lead by example. Our ultimate goal is to ensure everyone goes home safely at the end of each day, be they our employees, contractors or visitors. Developing a strong safety culture takes time and training, so we cultivate a questioning attitude and organizational learning is embraced. We are constantly examining our safety programs and processes to make sure they are robust and reflect our stated commitment to safety.

We recognize however, that even the best people make mistakes. “We don’t know what we don’t know.” Contrary to what we may think, safety is NOT common sense. Many human performance traps, triggers and tools are counter-intuitive and require different thoughts and actions than we have used in the past. To that end, our President and CEO, Dr. Robert Walker, recently introduced the Rules to Live By.

The Rules to Live By are founded on the fundamental belief that our health and safety is paramount, and that we are responsible for our own safety and the safety of those we work with. They are not new rules, nor a change in procedure or process. They are a renewed commitment by the leadership team and our employees, not to overlook safety rules. The rules include de-energizing and securing equipment/systems before work, using fall protection systems, wearing appropriate personal protective equipment and clothing, using proper lifting, hoisting and rigging techniques, obtaining necessary approvals before entering confined spaces, respecting and complying with barriers, and obtaining appropriate clearances required for hot work.

At AECL we will not allow anyone to compromise their safety or the safety of others. It’s the way we do things here, and our hope is that through education and practice the Rules to Live By will become routine, be it at work or at home.

We’re proud of the work we do, and we’re confident that instilling the importance of working safely will help us succeed in our mission to decommission the Whiteshell Laboratories site.

Plain Talk

Additional buildings will be required to support staff requirements for WMA operations and remediation projects work, which in turn requires upgrades to existing WMA infrastructure and services. One such example is the recent upgrade to the WL WMA electrical system, which was installed in the 1960s. A Manitoba Hydro inspection confirmed that it was necessary to upgrade the electrical system equipment to meet present day electrical codes. The initial electrical system supplied 130 kVA of electrical power to the WMA via three pole-mounted transformers.

Through the 2012/13 fall and winter, the system was upgraded by Whiteshell employees to

Projects & Activities

supply 300 kVA of electrical power through one main pad-mounted transformer. Additional equipment included two distribution panels, three transformers and one enclosure housing fused disconnect switches. All electrical reconfiguration work was safely completed in 2013 May, and redundant electrical equipment was removed in late 2013 August. The potentially PCB-containing obsolete pole-mounted transformers will be shipped off site for safe disposal.

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Waste Management Area Electrical Reconfiguration

Backfill Compaction Around Distribution Conduits

Hydro Pole Work

Electrical Reconfiguration Work Complete

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As an ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management Systems and

ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management Systems registered organization, AECL is committed to both studying and continuously improving the low impact of our operations on the environment. At Whiteshell Laboratories (WL), the Environmental Protection Program maintains both a comprehensive effluent monitoring program of airborne and liquid emissions and an environmental monitoring program of ambient air, surface water, groundwater, vegetation, soil and sediments and game animals. More than 130 sampling locations are used for both programs and approximately 11,440 analyses, on a variety of parameters, are performed each year. An ISO audit was recently conducted and WL has been re-certified under ISO 14001:2004.

Groundwater samples are analyzed at 52 groundwater wells across the WL site. Periodic update evaluations of groundwater flow systems around various facilities at WL are also conducted.

AECL is required as part of the WL Decommissioning Licence,

to submit an annual report to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) on the results of the Environmental Assessment Follow-Up Program (EAFP). Information collected through the EAFP is used to verify the accuracy of the Environmental Assessment and confirm that appropriate mitigation measures are taken. In addition, results assist in developing appropriate responses to unforeseen events and identify effects of the decommissioning project that may not have been predicted.

Overall, the risk to the environment of our decommissioning activities can be characterized as low, in that the potential for human or ecological impacts is low, and overall trending indicates stable performance.

Radiation Exposures to the Public

Airborne and liquid emissions as well as results from the environmental monitoring program are regularly submitted to the CNSC as confirmation WL is operating safely. Information is also available to the public upon request and through the AECL

Corporate Communications office. The 2012 targets for the EAFP were completed. Monitoring results for the calendar year 2012 confirmed that levels of radioactivity in the environment outside the WL boundary due to work at the WL site, as well as the resulting exposures to the public, were well below regulatory limits and guidelines.

Environmental Incidents

Environmental monitoring results for 2012 also confirmed that controls for the release of potentially hazardous substances continue to provide substantial protection of the environment. The types of incidents that could occur at WL include: Halocarbon Releases (as reported to Environment Canada under the Federal Halocarbon Regulations), and radiological or non-radiological spills to ground. Staff and contractors inspect equipment before use and use spill containment equipment when appropriate. Efforts to prevent non-radiological spills from occurring have been successful as there have been no significant spills to the ground at WL over the

2012 Environmental Performance for the Whiteshell Laboratories

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Environmental Performance

last 11 years. The graph below indicates the number and type of non-radiological spills that has occurred at WL over the last six years.

“Insignificant spills” are defined as “non-reportable with negligible effect on the environment”, whereas “significant spills” (over 100 litres is reportable to Environment Canada) would have some negative effect on the environment. To put things in perspective the small number of spills on site, have been ~2 to 5 litres and all spills are contained, cleaned up and disposed of appropriately under the direction of Environmental Protection staff.

Non-Radiological Emissions

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from WL include CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide. Emissions are measured in CO2 equivalent and are primarily from combustion of oil and propane for onsite heating. WL’s average greenhouse gas emissions of 6,310 tonnes (in CO2 equivalent tonnes) are well below Environment Canada’s reporting threshold of 50,000 tonnes. Emissions of ozone depleting substances (ODSs) are measured in CFC-11 equivalent and include releases of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HCFCs), and halons. CFCs and halons are the most damaging

ODSs. AECL is working hard to find replacement substances for CFCs and has removed most halon from the site.

AECL’s overall environmental performance continues to improve. All radiological effluents are less than 0.01% of the regulatory limit, as established by the CNSC.

To read the full 2012 Environmental Performance Report for WL, please go to http://www.aecl.ca/Regulatory/PR.htm, and click on WL Environmental Performance.

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2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Num

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Number of Incidents Halocarbon ReleasesInsignificant Spills to GroundSignificant Spills to Ground

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In the Community

FOR MORE INFORMATION,

CONTACT:

AECL Whiteshell LaboratoriesPinawa, Manitoba R0E 1L0

After a year of preparations and countless hours of effort

by many volunteers and staff, Pinawa held its 50th Birthday Celebration—and what a celebration it was! Formal festivities ran from July 10th through July 21st. AECL was proud to sponsor the Founders’ Gala held on Friday, July 12th, which was organized to honour Pinawa’s founding families and community members. The evening’s emcee, Louise Daymond, introduced a series

of guest speakers including former employee and current Pinawa Mayor Blair Skinner, the Honourable Flor Marcelino (Minister of Culture, Heritage and Tourism), Lac du Bonnet’s MLA, Wayne Ewasko, Hudson Bay Manager Desiree Blackmore and WL’s General Manager, Russ Mellor, who brought greetings on behalf of AECL and Whiteshell Laboratories.

This was of course Whiteshell Laboratories’ 50th anniversary as well, so events included an AECL lecture series and a tour of the labs. The lectures highlighted the many contributions made at WL in reactor safety, environmental sciences, nuclear waste management and Whiteshell Reactor-1 (WR-1). Grant Koroll wrapped up the series with a presentation on WL decommissioning, and the day concluded with tours of WL for the general public. For those who were unable to visit the site, a collection of AECL memorabilia was displayed in the old fire hall in Pinawa thanks to the efforts of former employees Jane Sargent and Christine Nuttall.

Pinawa and Whiteshell Laboratories Celebrate their 50th Birthday!

A small job fair was also held during the Birthday weekend to inform residents and visitors alike of the many employment opportunities at Whiteshell. Thanks to a dedicated group of AECL employees who volunteered their time and talents, WL’s Parade Float was completely redesigned and upgraded for the 50th. Special thanks go out to Stephan Bouderlique, Jody Cummer, Tatyana Chshyolkova, Joe Melillo, Laverne Wojciechowski, Randy Worona and Shannon Worona for all of their work! The existing parade float had been in use for many years and was in bad need of repair. Under Stephan’s capable direction, a new design was developed and the float became a moving tribute to Whiteshell Laboratories’ past and present. Most importantly, the Pinawa Birthday celebrations were an opportunity for everyone to catch up with friends, neighbours and co-workers from near and far. Happy 50th Birthday Pinawa!

Telephone: 204-753-2311www.nuclearlegacyprogram.ca

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