The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has reviewed the stakeholder engagement report submitted by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) in support of its application to amend the PHAI Cleanup Criteria.
The report details the more than 50 engagement activities undertaken between September and December 2020 to inform, educate and discuss the amendment application and encourage public input.
In its written response to the report, CNSC staff stated ‘All of the communications tactics and vehicles that contribute to regulatory requirements… were not only adhered to, but significant efforts were made to go above to ensure the public was well informed and had various means of providing feedback.’
The PHAI Cleanup Criteria sets the levels to which historic low-level radioactive waste is cleaned up in the Municipality of Port Hope and the amendment application was submitted to address the consistent feedback from property owners and residents who have experienced PHAI cleanups at their properties, and general public concerns about the predicted impact of the cleanup on the natural environment.
The feedback received included concerns expressed to CNL by Port Hope property owners about the length of time it takes to complete PHAI remediation work at their properties, and resulting impacts on property features. Stakeholders and members of the public expressed concern about the potential impact on
Port Hope’s landscape if the criteria does not change, particularly the number of trees that must be removed to meet the current criteria. Other stakeholders raised questions about how the proposed change may impact property values.
Indigenous community concerns generally focused on long-term health and environmental considerations.
A formal CNSC review hearing is anticipated to take place in spring 2022 at the earliest. Communications and engagement on the amendment application is ongoing and includes presentations on request, updates posted to PHAI.ca and social media posts.
Once the CNSC has set a hearing date for the application, CNL will share information about how to participate in that process.
CNL’s Stakeholder Engagement Report is available on request at [email protected]
Learn more about the CNL proposal to change the PHAI Cleanup Criteria
