27 Oct (NucNet): A four-year action plan drawn up by Canada’s nuclear regulator following the Fukushima-Daiichi accident in Japan will be completed by December 2015, with operators to date already investing over 500m Canadian dollars (€342m, $379m) on improvements, Michael Binder, president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, said in a speech posted online.
Mr Binder said Canada has come a long way in improving nuclear safety in Canada, but “what keeps me up at night” is uncertainty as to whether other nuclear states have done enough to improve safety. He said there is no global regulator that keeps nuclear states accountable and committed to nuclear safety.
“The question is: can we afford to leave each country to its own safety framework without any requirement for accountability to the international community?”
Mr Binder said so far, these issues have not been discussed in public, only under the Wano (World Association of Nuclear Operators) process or under International Atomic Energy Agency voluntary reviews.
Mr Binder said that, shortly after the March 2011 accident, Canada created a Fukushima task force and began a review of all its major nuclear facilities to confirm that they were able to withstand and respond to beyond-design events.
An action plan was drawn up with four key categories: strengthening defence-in-depth; improving emergency response; improving the regulatory framework; and improving international collaboration.
