Federal Radioactive Waste Management Audit
Expert advice was provided in support of an audit of the Canadian Government's role and responsibilities with respect to radioactive waste management. The objectives of the audit were: to assess the federal government's duties related to the management of high-level and low-level radioactive waste; to report on federal initiatives and costs incurred to date; and to assess progress made by Canada in dealing with these wastes. SENES' input focused on the issues arising from uranium mill tailings and historical wastes such as those in Port Hope, Ontario.

ITER Project
SENES provided environmental assessment management services for the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project. The ITER project involved building a research fusion reactor to test fusion technology as a means of commercial energy production. Canada had proposed the Bruce Nuclear Power Development site and the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station site, both located in Ontario and owned by Ontario Hydro, as potential host communities.

The proposal to site ITER in Canada fell under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. As the Environmental Assessment (EA) manager, SENES' responsibilities included provision of advice on the EA process, co-ordination of the EA team, and preparation of two EA screening reports for submission to the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency CEAA) for approval for siting ITER.

Strengthening of Indian State Factories Inspectorates
SENES carried out a feasibility study for strengthening the State Factories Inspectorates, which is the regulatory body responsible for implementing regulations on industrial safety and hazardous chemical management in India. The work consisted of reviewing existing international regulations and control mechanisms, including organizations responsible for enforcement in the U.K., Canada and the U.S., and making comparisons with the Indian scenario. Recommendations on staffing, financing, training and infrastructure improvement were provided to the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Industrial compliance monitoring for the Gujarat Pollution Control Board

The Gujarat Department of Forest and Environment (GDFE) and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) retained SENES to assist in developing a decision support system for compliance monitoring and verification. The project has two additional components:

• provide training in air and water pollution control and management, and
• provide assistance for participation by industry and public in the implementation of environmental regulations.

SENES is providing a six-person team for this project to carry out the following tasks:

• Decision Support System: The SENES team, accompanied by Indian counterparts, will carry out a decision scoping process, have discussions with client project team, visit the industrial areas in the pilot areas and hold workshops with other stakeholders to ascertain the needs of the DSS. SENES would develop the DSS and carry out training of personnel as a part of this project.
• Institutional Development: SENES will carry out the a training course on air and water pollution control and management and also conduct an evaluation of private and public sector laboratories in Gujarat and make recommendations for improvement.
• Public-Industry Participation: SENES will evaluate current regulation setting system, levels of participation and methods employed to get public-industry inputs, and hold discussions with environmental NGOs, Industry and Industry Associations, and Regulators. A workshop will also be held to evaluate a long-term regulation setting and interaction strategy.