TAP Canada

Here is what the CNSC staff say (source) about groundwater contamination near SRB Technologies:

“The monitoring data collected by SRBT since the last licence renewal continue to be within the range predicted from CNSC staff’s modeling assessment conducted in 2010, as shown in figures 4 and 5, using the two monitoring wells in close proximity to SRBT as an example. The relatively good match between the modeling results and measurements provides validation to CNSC staff’s 2010 prediction on the behaviors of tritium in the groundwater system. It also demonstrates that releases of tritium resulting from SRB’s operation are under control and the tritium movement in groundwater around the SRB facility is well understood”

Here is what independent scientist, Dr. Ole Hendrickson found when he looked at the same data:

“In fact, Figure 5 indicates a poor match between the modeling results and actual tritium measurements in monitoring MW07-13.  None of the results for the 15 most recent samples taken from this monitoring well are within the range predicted by CNSC staff’s modeling assessment.  All had consistently higher tritium contamination than predicted by CNSC staff.”

Dr. Hendrickson goes on to say:

“Even more troubling is that the Environmental Assessment Information Report omits data for the other two monitoring wells modeled in the Update on Tritium Contamination in Groundwater at SRBT:  MW07-18 and MW07-29.  In these two wells, the agreement between the CNSC staff model and actual measurements is very poor.  Table 1 shows that during 2014, MW07-18 and MW07-29 had average tritium contamination levels 3.3 and 10.9 times higher than CNSC staff predictions, respectively.

“One must conclude that the statement on page 11 of 18 of the Environmental Assessment Information Report that “SRB’s operation has not adversely affected the groundwater quality” is false.  The mismatch between predicted and measured groundwater tritium contamination indicates that releases of tritium resulting from SRBT’s operations are not under control and the tritium movement in groundwater around the SRBT facility is not well understood.”

You can read Dr. Hendrickson’s full report, prepared for The First Six Years, here on the TAP website:  Tritium Behaviour in the Vicinity of SRB Technologies

Documents prepared for the CNSC’s public hearing on SRB Technologies reveal shocking levels of incompetence or corruption in CNSC staff.

Dr. Ole Hendrickson in his report prepared for The First Six Years, noted the following statement by CNSC staff:

“radioactivity measured in water, air, soil, vegetation, milk, wine, fruits and vegetables samples…are within natural background levels”

Background tritium levels are considered to be 2 Bq/l according to CNSC. Several vegetable samples from Bowdens Gardens in Pembroke measured in the hundreds of becquerels per litre of tritium. CNSC staff’s statement (in quotation marks above)  therefore reveals a shocking misunderstanding of what background tritium levels are, or a deliberate attempt to mislead readers.

Additional problems noted by Dr. Hendrickson  include: lack of information on methodology employed for sample analysis, use of non-standard units (Bq/kg fresh weight), lack of clarity as to whether tritium concentrations in vegetation include organically-bound tritium, and the failure to provide a source for “Guidance/Reference levels”

TAP suggests that staff responsible for stating that tritium levels in water, air, soil, vegetation, milk, wine, fruite and vegetables are within natural background levels, should be fired, or at the very least sent back to school to learn basic science.