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The letter’s authors say they opted for anonymity because their opinions will be unpopular with CNSC management and “we are not confident in whistleblower protection.”

Sunni Locatelli, a spokeswoman for the CNSC, said Monday the agency is aware of the letter.

“We don’t know that it’s from CNSC staff,” she said. “Either way, whether we received something from CNSC staff or external parties, we have a mechanism in place. We take these kinds of allegations very seriously and we have initiated a formal review.”

In a followup email statement, the CNSC said an analysis of the concerns raised in the letter is already underway. “Once completed, the results of the analysis will be reviewed by senior management and will be discussed at a future public meeting of the commission.”

The letter makes specific allegations involving CNSC oversight of Ontario’s Darlington and Bruce nuclear power plants.

In the case of Darlington, it states that CNSC granted the operator, Ontario Power Generation, a one-year licence in 2014 on the understanding that it would provide the safety case for the refurbishment of the station.

But OPG didn’t submit the required quality studies for the refurbishment configuration prior to being granted a long-term licence last December, the letter says. And CNSC staff didn’t inform the commissioners that the Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) had not been updated, it adds.

As a result, OPG is not compliant with the nuclear regulator’s regulations, the letter says, “and neither OPG nor the commission can make an informed decision about the safety of the plant during refurbishment.”