Community Forces Regulator to Shut Down Shield Source Radioactive Sign Manufacturing

by SAGESafe and Green Energy

Safe And Green Energy Peterborough

UPDATE - May 2012

 

TRITIUM PROCESSING AT SHIELD SOURCE INC.

 

 

• The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has cancelled the hearing in Ottawa for May 2 to decide on the Shield Source Inc. (SSI) application for relicensing.

 

• Instead, CNSC extended the term of SSI's license to the end of 2012, BUT, SSI's tritium gas processing operations have been suspended until further approval from CNSC.

 

• SSI had been providing inaccurate tritium emissions data for the past two years, at least.  Third party testing confirmed the errors.

 

• Although CNSC is satisfied that the health and safety of the public and the

    environment has not been compromised, the agency did state that    

   "exceeding the license limit was a serious breach of the license".

 

• The problem of inaccurate tritium emissions data is further alarming because on February 1, 2010 SSI experienced a major tritium spill, during which 30% of the company's annual release limit was vented up the exhaust stack in just five minutes.

 

• Locally, people were looking forward to the hearing scheduled for May 2; 75 written submissions were presented to the hearing panel on time, with a further number of late submissions.  Also, 15 oral presentations were

     scheduled at the hearing itself.

 

• If a new hearing date is scheduled later this year, "new submissions will be required at that time".  SAGE will be closely monitoring exactly how submissions will be handled for any rescheduled hearing.