Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
     In order for the needed SMR paradigm shift to take place, industry and governments will need to strive towards standardized designs, standardized approaches to design requirements and standardized deployment and operating models.
     Even if good progress is made towards harmonization and standardization, the successful, safe, and widespread deployment of SMRs depends on strong and appropriate oversight. Getting there will require international collaboration at a much deeper level than today. There will need to a be a commitment to meaningful progress and rapid change.
     From an international regulatory perspective, international oversight must come from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Member states of the IAEA will need to work together to ensure that the proper mechanisms are in place at the IAEA to support harmonization and standardization and ultimately the safety and security of SMRs around the globe.
     For the nuclear industry, at a global level, international oversight means sharing information on deployment and operating experiences widely and openly. It also means ensuring peer reviews are supported and strengthened.
      Governments need to have the political will to support SMRs. They must provide funding to regulators, industry and international organizations. And they must make the timely policy decisions required to enable successful deployment.
       Ultimately, there will be no future for SMRs if there is no trust in the technology. The nuclear industry must dedicate itself to sincere, sustained, and substantive engagement, consultation, and trust building with members of the public, especially those communities hosting SMRs. In Canada, this is especially true with Indigenous Nations and communities in the context and spirit of reconciliation.
      It is necessary for industry and governments to earn community trust and acceptance of the SMRs. They must make a strong case for SMRs. It is also necessary for regulators to build trust and confidence in regulatory decision-making and assure communities that strong and independent oversight will be there to keep them safe.
      Nuclear energy does not emit carbon dioxide while reactors are operating. It is a well-regulated technology throughout its lifecycle. Although it is often feared and misunderstood. It could help diminish or prevent further impacts from the use of carbon dioxide emitting energy sources and provide energy security for many countries.
     Unlocking the potential of SMRs will only be possible if there is a major paradigm shift in how the nuclear sector approaches deployment. Only through this fundamental shift will this technology be able to play a role that many think and hope it can be done in the timelines needed.
     Regulators exist to ensure that SMRs are safe. However, it is every regulator’s role to monitor its industry, see where it is headed, and be ready to carry out its regulatory mandate efficiently and effectively.
      Many see this paradigm shift coming and know that it will require much work from everyone including international organizations, governments, regulators, and industry. All must be focused on deploying a reasonable number of technologies.
     The CNSC continues to show leadership in laying the enabling conditions through our efforts within Canada, bilateral cooperation with the U.S. and our work with the IAEA and NEA. The CNSC will continue to play an important role in enabling the safe, efficient and timely deployment of SMRs to meet Canada’s and the world’s needs.

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Ambient office = 83 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 119 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 116 nanosieverts per hour

White onion from Central Market = 59 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 101 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 95 nanosieverts per hour

Part 1 of 2 Parts
     Small modular reactors (SMRs) generate three hundred megawatts or less of electricity. They are being promoted as smaller, less complex, safer, more economical and easier to construct and deploy than current commercial nuclear power reactors which generally generate over one gigawatt of electricity. Some promoters of SMRs believe that a major paradigm shift is required to enable their safe deployment with the speed and magnitude necessary.
     Rumina Velshi is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). She chairs the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Commission for Safety Standards. She recently gave a major speech on SMR prospects to the Fourth International Conference on Generation IV and Small Reactors (G4SR-4). The following comments cover some of the highlights of her speech.
     Velshi pointed out that much of the SMR focus is on the ‘S’ in SMR but what really sets them apart from current power reactors is the ‘M’ in SMR. If SMRs are going to play a significant role in fighting climate change and addressing energy security, the world needs to capitalize on their modular potential. SMRs will need to be deployed more quickly, less expensively and much more widespread than current commercial power reactors. The nuclear sector will require a significant shift from traditional large-scale projects to a more streamlined product-based model.
     With respect to safety of nuclear power reactors, it will always come first as far as regulators are concerned so there is no need for a shift there. On the other hand, regulators do not want to an unnecessary burden or impediment to innovative technologies including SMRs. Velshi believes that this extends to regulators doing their part in bringing about the enabling conditions necessary to support the possibility of a safe and efficient product-based model of SMR deployment. This will not be easy. It will take time and it will require a retooling of the existing international governance of the nuclear industry and a willingness to be bold. Velshi says that there are five enabling conditions that must be considered.
     First, there must be movement towards the international harmonization of regulation. Second, there needs to be efforts made on the international standardization of designs or design requirements. Third, all of this must be anchored in effective international oversight involving collaboration previously not witnessed in the nuclear sector. Fourth, political will must be found to make these changes. Fifth, everything that is done must prioritize the building of trust.
     International harmonization of regulations will certainly not be achieved overnight, if ever. However, there are solid steps that regulators around the world can take to move the yardstick in the right direction. This includes harmonizing codes and standards and finding opportunities to coordinate, leverage, and/or adopt technology reviews by other regulators. Nuclear licensing processes must be challenged in order to ensure that they are appropriate for SMRs based on risks. However, all this must be done in a way that allows for continued national sovereignty in regulatory decision-making.
     Unfortunately, regulatory harmonization and the efficiencies that would follow from it cannot occur on the seventy-plus SMR designs currently being proposed.
Please read Part 2 next

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Ambient office = 88 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 133 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 131 nanosieverts per hour

Tomato from Central Market = 111 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 87 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 60 nanosieverts per hour

     The Hongyanhe nuclear power plant in China’s Liaoning province will soon be host to a demonstration of nuclear heating. It will be the first nuclear energy heating project in northeast China. Nearly twenty thousand local residents will benefit.
     The project will include six miles of a primary pipeline network, three and a half miles of a secondary pipeline network and four new heat exchange stations according to China General Nuclear (CGN).
     It is estimated that the project will reduce the consumption of coal by five thousand seven hundred and twenty six tons. It should reduce CO2 emissions by fourteen thousand tons. It will “effectively improve the atmosphere in the heating area” and provide a “remarkable” environmental protection benefits.
     The Hongyanhe nuclear power plant is owned and operated by Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Company which is a joint venture between CGN and State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC). Each holding a 45% stake. The Dalian Municipal Construction Investment Company holds the remaining 10% stake.  Last March, Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power signed an agreement with Liaoning’s largest central heating enterprise, SPIC subsidiary State Power Investment Northeast Electric Power Company, for a district heating project at the Hongyanhe plant.
     Construction of Phase I of the Hongyanhe plant including four CPR-1000 pressurized water reactors designated Units 1 through 4 began in August of 2009. Units 1 and 2 have been in commercial operation since June 2013 and May 2014 respectively. Unit 3 entered commercial operation in August 2015. Unit 4 began operating in September of 2016. Phase II comprised two ACPR – 1000 reactors designated Units 5 and 6. Construction of Unit 5 started in March of 2015 and Unit 6 construction started in July of 2015. Unit 5 went into commercial operation in July of 2021 and Unit 6 began commercial operation in June 2022.
     The Hongyanhe nuclear heating project is the first district heating project in northeast China. The Chinese government has stated that clean-energy heating is a priority. In 2017, the government issued guidance on clean heating in winter in northern China. The Chinese National Energy Administration (NEA) released a five-year plant covering 2017-2021. It highlighted the innovation of clean heating technology and consideration of nuclear heating.
     China’s Haiyang nuclear power plant in Shandong province officially began providing district heating to the surrounding area in November of 2020. This was China’s first commercial nuclear heating project. A trial of the project was carried out the previous winter. It provided heat to seven million five hundred thousand square feet of housing. This included the plant’s dormitory and some local residents. This year, the Haiyang Nuclear Energy Heating Project started supplying heating to the entire Haiyang city.
     The first phase of district heating demonstration project at the Qinshan nuclear power plant in China’s southern Zhejiang Province was ordered in December 2021. This project is divided into three phases. The first phase now provides nuclear energy-generated central heating to five million square feet of accommodation in three residential areas. Fifty-four thousand square feet of apartments for almost four thousand residents of Haiyan County will also be supplied with heat. This covers the main urban area of Haiyan County and the entire area of Shupu Town.
     Russia, several East European countries, Switzerland and Sweden have all engaged in nuclear-fueled district heating schemes. Heat from nuclear power plants has also been provided to industrial sites in several countries.

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Ambient office = 76 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 108 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 108 nanosieverts per hour

Seedless grape from Central Market = 91 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 87 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 80 nanosieverts per hour

Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
      There were three one-line reports of drone activity from last year. These did not give any location. One of them states that “red light over area, sounded like a drone” without giving any further information. Another report described a pilot and two others operating a drone which was not inside a no-fly zone. The third report states that, “Member of public who saw a white van and a male, also observed two lights in the sky and believed they were drones.”
     A passing detail in another report from the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) indicates that there was a report of a swarm at an unnamed nuclear licensed site in the U.K. This incident occurred between January of 2014 and July 2020 according to the regulatory agency which did not give any details. The ONR refused to release any additional information after considering the public interest but deciding it was outweighed by national security. It is not clear if the group of drones reported at Capenhurst is the same incident that is being kept secret by the ONR.
      These reports of drone activity come at a time of increasing tensions between the West and China and Russia. Each of these countries has been linked to concerted physical and cyber spying operation in the U.K.
     Last April, a source told the Sunday People newspaper that Chinese spies in the U.K., have been targeting “very sensitive establishments” such as military bases and nuclear power stations with UAVs.
     In July of 2020, the potential threat was demonstrated in the U.S. when a swarm of drones was spotted over a nuclear reactor in Arizona on two consecutive nights. Official reports state that the incident at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station remains unsolved. Six drones were reported each night.
     Drones and any other type of unmanned aircraft are banned from flying the airspace over nuclear installations by the U.K. Air Navigation Order 2016. A spokesperson for the MoD has said that “We have robust security measures in place at all defense sites, including nuclear bases, to respond to all such incidents. While we cannot comment on specific security arrangements or procedures, we continue to invest in a range of measures to tackle future threats, including counter-drone technology.”
     The evolving use of drones has been demonstrated on the battlefield in Ukraine. This includes civilian model drones adapted for reconnaissance. An online news site has previously reported that the U.K. government has joined with the private and academic sectors in developing the technology.
     A CNC spokesperson said, “Drones are an advancing technology utilized within both the nuclear and policing industries. The evolvement of detection and anti-drone systems is continuous, along with changes in legislation, and awareness packages for both the hobbyist and legitimate operator. As anti-drone technologies develop, the CNC actively reviews and assesses the benefits. While not commenting on individual reports, to our knowledge, there has been no confirmed malicious use of a drone in relation to the UK’s civil nuclear sites.”
     The CNC forwarded the query about the reported swarm to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (DBEIS). DBEIS said, “Any criminal investigations are led by the relevant local police force. It would not be appropriate to comment further.”