Auditor satisfied with draft bill increasing insurance limits for nuclear facilities

Canada’s auditor general is satisfied Natural Resources Canada has taken steps to update the insurance requirements for the country’s nuclear facilities.The Nuclear Liability Act, which came into force in 1976, currently limits the liability of a nuclear operator for any damages related to radioactive releases to a maximum of Cdn$75 million. Natural Resources Canada has since drafted new legislation, introduced in Bill C-5, that would require nuclear operators to carry Cdn$650 million in insurance coverage. The draft legislation also requires a five-year review of money available for compensation.A 2005 audit revealed the Cdn$75 million now required for insurance coverage for Canadian nuclear operations has remained the same for the past 30 years.In his 2008 report, the auditor reiterates Canada’s current limit is “considerably lower” than the coverage in 12 other major industrialized nations with nuclear facilities including Italy (with an upper tier of coverage just under Cdn$500 million), the United States (Cdn$10 billion) and Japan (unlimited coverage).The auditor’s report notes more than 435 nuclear reactors are in operation globally. As of August 2007, more than 300 additional reactors were in the proposal, planning or building stages.The auditor noted most nuclear operators generally supported proposed amendments to the act. “[Natural Resources Canada] officialssaid the operators recognize that higher insurance requirements would reduce exposure to litigation that they might face in light of the current insurance limit of Cdn$75 million.”