Best Theratronics needs financial guarantee before resuming operations

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Best Theratronics then revised its preliminary decommissioning plan and proposed a financial guarantee of $1.8 million. In July 2017, the CNSC accepted the $1.8-million guarantee in the form of letters of credit from two banks: one for $236,000 from BMO and another for $1,564,000 from ICICI.

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Best Theratronics was to submit an updated preliminary decommissioning plan to the CNSC in 2022, along with an updated financial guarantee.

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In October 2024, CNSC staff received confirmation from ICICI that the letter of credit for $1.564 million had expired in 2021. CNSC staff had not received any notification from Best Theratronics about changes, said the decision, which noted that the ICICI letter of credit had a clause that would allow it to expire — without the CNSC being made aware of it.

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The CNSC’s designated officer said Best Theratronics had reported in 2022 and 2023 that the $1.8-million guarantee was active and in place.

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The expiry of the ICICI letter of credit had been “unexpected,” and Best Theratronics had been unable to reinstate it with ICICI, a representative told the CNSC. The representative acknowledged that Best Theratronics had reported that the financial guarantee was in place in 2022 and 2023, when in fact it was not.

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In a written submission to the CNSC, Best Theratronics said the 2017 financial guarantee was “excessive,” but recognized that the company was not in compliance with its licence and was required to update decommissioning cost estimates.

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The designated officer assigned to the case by the CNSB said that, based on inspectors’ observations of Best Theratronics’ current inventory of radioactive sources, “it would not be unexpected if the resulting review of the PDP (preliminary decommissioning plan) would lead to a higher financial guarantee being required.”

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The Best Theratronics submission added that the restrictions about transferring products would “significantly and unduly” impact its business. The restriction is “punitive,” as it is not directly connected to the concerns identified in the order, and would not affect the safety of the facility, the submission said.

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Meanwhile, in a separate order issued after a Nov. 8 inspection of the March Road facility, a CNSC inspector issued an order requiring Best Theratronics to put additional security and emergency preparedness measures in place.

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The order was amended on Feb. 14 to reflect progress in addressing items raised in the original order, CNSC said. “All other information on the reasons for the order or on actions to be taken is considered sensitive security information and cannot be published.”

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The amended order will be in place until Best Theratronics complies with the remaining actions.  There is also no risk to the public or the environment stemming from this non-compliance, the CNSC spokesperson said.

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A licensee may decide to further challenge orders, the CNSC said. However, orders are effective once they are issued and a licensee is required to comply with the conditions of the orders in the interim even if it is challenging them. Failure to comply can lead to further measures, including  prosecution and licensing actions.

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“The CNSC continues to actively monitor Best Theratronics to ensure regulatory compliance, including compliance with orders issued to the licensee,” the spokesperson said.