Assessment of Radionuclides under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act

Abstract

Releases of radionuclides from nuclear facilities (impact on non-human species) is one of the twenty-five substances included in the second Priority Substances List. Therefore , releases of radionuclides from nuclear facilities must be assessed to determine whether they are toxic as defined in the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. The presentation will provide a general overview of the ecological risk assessment (ERA) framework used for the assessment of priority substances as well as a brief discussion of potential assessment outcomes. An example of the application of the ERA framework to releases of radionuclides from uranium facilities (one of the sectors covered in the scope of the assessment) will be presented, including potential assessment endpoints and data gaps.