Developing Forensic Biomarkers for Fish Killed by Cold Shock and Impinged at Nuclear Power Plant Water Cooling Intakes

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Nuclear power production involving the CANDU reactors requires the use of once-through cooling loops that draw water from adjacent waterbodies. Because of the large volume of water "sucked" into the cooling loops, screens are used to prevent fish from becoming entrained. Fish can become impinged on the screens and anecdotal observations suggest that mass impingement events are associated with cold shock events. Water temperatures may drop as much as 15 degrees C in a matter of hours which impairs swimming ability and can be lethal. Cold shock is a natural phenomenon but with climate change and extreme weather events, such events are becoming more common. Nuclear power operators are required to monitor impingement and report the count data to regulators so that they can negotiate compensation for the harm caused to fish populations. Yet, if the impinged fish are impaired or killed because of cold shock events such that otherwise they would not have been impinged, compensation for those losses by the nuclear power industry (and electricity users) would potentially not be necessary. To that end, the goal of this project is to develop biomarkers that are able to determine if fish that are impinged at nuclear power plants have experienced cold shock. This partnership project brings together Kinectrics Ltd which is a leader in the development and application of advanced technologies for the power industry along with several academics with experience in fish biomarker development and application. This 1 year project will involve experiments intended to determine which biomarkers are unique to cold shock, how this varies with the extent and duration of cold shock, and how the biomarkers perform in fish that have been dead for various time periods. Collectively, this body of work will enable the industry partner to identify whether cold shock is a causal agent for mass fish mortality events. The project will involve the training of HQP who would be well-positioned to work in various sectors including industry and government.