Risk-Informed Decision-Making in Canadian Nuclear Regulation

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of concepts pertaining to risk management and risk-informed decision-making, in order to promote the understanding of their application in the Canadian nuclear regulatory climate. As stated in the Nuclear Safety and Control Act (NSCA), the CNSC is required to protect the Canadian public against “unreasonable risk” posed by activities it regulates. Additionally, the CNSC is expected to respect findings given in reports from the Office of the Auditor General (OAG), and to follow directives issued by the Government of Canada through Cabinet, hence, the Cabinet Directive on Streamlining Regulation (CDSR). The CNSC applies an approach that strives to be easily understandable, adaptable to many situations, supported by tools to gather information, is defensible, respects stakeholder consultations and is founded on open communication.The CNSC's conformance to the NSCA is broken into categories depending on the nature of the regulated facility: Class I power reactor facilities, non-power-reactor Class I facilities and Class II facilities.Internationally, different countries have different perspectives on risk. The paper argues that the CNSC's approach is consistent with practices of other nuclear regulatory bodies, which factor risk into their decision-making process.