How does MDS Nordion protect the environment and their community?
MDS Nordion takes the safety of our employees, the community and the environment very seriously. To meet our commitment to prevent pollution and keep exposure to radiation for the community and employees as low as reasonably achievable, we maintain comprehensive effluent and environmental monitoring programs. These include calculated, theoretical derived release limits (DRLs), which are approved by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). One DRL represents an estimated 1 mSv of radiation dose to the general public in the surrounding area per year or the equivalent of three or four chest X-rays. MDS Nordion continuously monitors liquid and airborne releases, compares them to its DRLs, and reports them to the CNSC. Our airborne and liquid releases are a fraction of the amount allowable. MDS Nordion’s radioactive releases are typically less than 5% of the DRL (0.05 mSv). This is significantly less than the amount received (2.4 mSv-3.6 mSv) from natural background radiation, such as
