Canadian analysis on how to employ Emergency Planning Zones for SMRs

As small modular reactors (SMRs) move closer to deployment, in many countries, including Canada, one big question keeps coming up: how do we adapt nuclear emergency planning of traditional nuclear power plants to new nuclear technologies as SMRs that may pose lower risks?  

This webinar focuses on how nuclear emergency planning can be adapted to be proportionate to the risks of SMRs, while still meeting high international safety standards. It will explore how this can be achieved and applied in different environments, such as the far North. The webinar will include examples for High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (HTGR), and Small Light Water Reactor (SLWR) types PWR and BWR. This work represents the culmination of nearly a decade of research at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories.

Emergency planning zones are areas around a nuclear facility (power plant) where plans are made in advance to protect people, food, water, and the environment in the unlikely event of a nuclear accident. Traditionally, these zones include inner areas, where planning focuses on protecting people from radioactive elements release in the air from nuclear accident, intermediate areas that are used as contingency where emergency response might need to be expanded into, and larger outer area, where planning focuses on preventing long‑term contamination of food and drinking water. This approach comes from the International Atomic Energy Agency and has been adopted worldwide.

Over the past decade, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories research has focused on whether the emergency planning zones for some SMRs could be much smaller, possibly with the inner zones limited to the nuclear power plant site itself, without reducing public protection. During the webinar, an alternative planning approach will be presented that places greater emphasis on: i) the specific safety design of the SMR, ii) what radioactive elements could realistically be released into the environment from the accident, and iii) real‑time measurements around the site. Instead of assuming that urgent public actions, like evacuations, would be needed, this approach focuses on confirming through measurements that people outside the site remain safe. If longer‑term actions are needed, such as food restrictions, these could still be put in place based on monitoring results.

Several SMR projects are ongoing in Canada, but, the current Darlington, new build for four SMRs (Boiling Water Reactors from GE Vernova) is located on an existing nuclear site, with existing emergency response frameworks. 

The next green field new build is likely to be either in the provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta, or the Canadian northern territories. Because provinces lead emergency management in Canada, these jurisdictions must build their own provincial nuclear emergency response plans (PNERPs). 

Drawing from Canadian regulations, standards, and existing provincial plans in Ontario and New Brunswick, and guided by the IAEA’s Milestones approach, the presenter of the webinar will outline what new jurisdictions would need to consider, which standards apply, and how PNERP development could align with the provinces’ SMR project timelines.

Shorth, the webinar presents research from Canadian Nuclear Laboratories showing that:

• Emergency planning needs to be proportionate to the actual risks and deployment environments of SMRs. 
• Emergency planning zones might be smaller compared to those for traditional nuclear power plants. 
• Greater reliance could be placed on real-time environmental measurements, rather than assuming that large evacuations would be necessary during a nuclear or radiological accident.

Q&A: During and after the presentation, please pose questions in the Q&A chat of the webinar, so that the presenter can answer these after his presentation in the webinar.

The presenter: Dr. Luke Lebel is a senior researcher at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) working with nuclear accidents and radiological incidences consequences and radiation protection of the public and the environment. His expertise focuses on the transport of radionuclides from nuclear facilities into the environment, supported by aerosol science and fluid mechanics. He has contributed to radioiodine atmospheric transport following the Fukushima Daiichi accident and to full-scale radiological dispersal device experiments. His current work includes developing advanced radiological measurement tools and real-time dose assessment methods. Luke is currently leading efforts on the development of new tools and techniques for advanced radiological measurements, real-time dose protection tools, and decision support systems to help emergency responders better respond to a major accident.

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