Environmental Monitoring

The Gentilly-2 environmental management system received international standards approval in the form of ISO 14001 certification in December 2009. In its declaration of principles, management made a commitment to adhere to the principles of sustainable development and to implement programs to limit the environmental impact of its activities and improve its performance.

Environmental monitoring results

Gentilly-2 generating station has implemented a rigorous monitoring program to assess its environmental impact. The program specifies the type and frequency of both the sampling required within a 15-km radius around the generating station and the analysis of the physico-chemical and radiological data collected. On a quarterly basis, results are sent to and reviewed with the government authorities responsible for program content oversight.

Each year, over 3,500 air, soil, sediment and food chain product samples are taken and tested to evaluate the presence of radiological environmental contaminants. The results of 2009 testing show that, as in past years, the real impacts of the nuclear generating station on the environment and neighboring populations are negligible.

Furthermore, an independent monitoring program is carried out by a team that includes the radioecology laboratory at Université Laval. In 2009, Hydro-Québec presented and discussed in its annual environmental monitoring report the results from an intercomparison study of tritium presence in cow’s milk.