The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission says its latest soil, water and air sample study again shows areas around BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada’s facility in Peterborough are “protected” and do not pose health risks.
As part of its operating licensing renewal agreement, areas around the Monaghan Road facility are tested annually for levels of uranium and beryllium. Among sites tested include Prince of Wales Public School across from the facility.
The Toronto-based company uses uranium and “small amounts” of beryllium — a lightweight metal — to join portions of fuel bundles at the Peterborough facility using uranium dioxide pellets produced at its facility in Toronto. The pellets are then inserted into the tubes to create fuel bundles.
The commission on Tuesday released the results of its 2021 Independent Environmental Monitoring Program which tested soil, water and air around “publicly accessible” areas of the city, focusing on both radioactive and hazardous substances. The report concluded that the levels of uranium and beryllium in the samples were “below available guidelines.”
“Measurements conducted by the IEMP to date have consistently found levels of radioactivity in the environment to be low, and well within the range of natural background radiation levels,” the study concludes. “The concentrations of beryllium in soil collected around the BWXT Peterborough facility remain well below guidelines. As a result, no health or environmental impacts are expected at these concentrations.”
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The report notes the 2021 study’s results are similar to studies conducted in 2014, 2018 and 2019 — all below federal and provincial guidelines, the IEMP notes.
“(The studies) show that the ambient environment surrounding BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada Inc. Peterborough is within provincial guidelines, confirming that the licensee’s environmental protection program is effective,” the report states. “The results add to the body of evidence that people and the environment in the vicinity of the BWXT Peterborough facility are protected and that there are no anticipated health impacts.
In 2020, another study was done as part of the company’s operating licensing renewal application. That study noted there were “no significant changes” in concentrations of beryllium in the soil in Peterborough.
The IEMP’s study is similar to an independent soil sample study conducted in September 2021 by SDK Environmental Consulting Services which also gathered samples about 25 kilometres west of the BWXT plant.
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