Meet the Team: Environmental Stewardship

Whiteshell Laboratories General Manager, Mark Blair, is a seasoned nuclear professional renowned for his exceptional leadership in driving complex hazard reduction projects while ensuring stringent safety standards. With a diverse career spanning senior roles across the nuclear industry, Mark has consistently delivered impactful results.

Formerly the GM of Waste Services at CNL, Mark’s strategic vision and operational expertise facilitated the safe and compliant delivery of a number of high-profile hazard reduction projects and the implementation of integrated waste management strategies across CNL sites.

His industry influence extends beyond CNL as he chaired the Waste Management Peer Group at Candu Owner’s Group (COG), shaping industry standards and regulatory practices. His prior roles at SNC-Lavalin, Atkins, and the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) further attest to his comprehensive understanding of waste management, regulatory compliance, safety inspection, and site leadership.

Outside of work, Mark enjoys spending time with his wife, mom, and nephew, as well as spending as much time as possible walking outdoors and getting lost in the forest in Manitoba.

Patrick has over 10 years of experience in Project Management and Controls, working primarily on major decommissioning projects at Chalk River Laboratories. He joined CNL in 2014 as a Project Controls Coordinator and progressed to a Project Manager in 2018. In his current role as the Manager of Decommissioning Program Execution, Patrick is responsible for the planning, execution, and reporting of a complex portfolio of projects.

With a background in civil and structural engineering, Mike leads the Operations team at NPD, and helps support the planning and engineering for the proposed In-Situ Decommissioning of the NPD reactor. He grew up in the Deep River area and returned following his post-secondary education. Mike has been at CNL since 2002 and has experience in Design, Waste Management, Projects, and Decommissioning, and has been with the NPD team since 2016. He lives in Deep River with his family, enjoying many of the outdoor activities the Ottawa Valley has to offer, including boating, camping, and exploring. In his spare time, Mike volunteers with two local groups: one working to keep area beaches clean; and another that maintains trails for off-road vehicles.

Caley began his career with CNL at Chalk River Laboratories in 2015 as a Project Leader, followed by Manager and now Director all within our Facilities Decommissioning and Environmental Remediation Division. With a Mechanical Engineering Degree from the University of Ottawa, Caley has experience in Project Management in the nuclear and hydro power generation fields prior to joining CNL. Being raised in northern Ontario, and now living in the Ottawa Valley with his wife and two children, Caley takes full advantage of the local outdoors and enjoys sledding, mountain biking and skiing.

Kacie is a Project Leader in the Reactor Decommissioning Program Execution Branch. Kacie has a professional background in Project Management and has worked for CNL at Chalk River Laboratories since 2009. She was born, raised and still lives in the Petawawa area. Kacie enjoys spending time in the beautiful Ottawa Valley outdoors with her family and friends.

Genevieve is a Project Manager in the Reactor Decommissioning Program Execution Branch. Having worked at Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) since 2008, Genevieve has experience within various departments at CNL. She previously served as the Director of technical support for the NRU Reactor team in Operations, and spent a couple of years with Science & Technology as the Director of Research and Development Nuclear Facilities. Genevieve’s move into Decommissioning and Environmental Remediation enables her to be part of the team responsibly reducing liabilities and clearing the way towards CRL’s revitalized campus. She has a professional background in Mechanical Engineering and a strong drive for continuous improvement. Genevieve loves living in the Ottawa Valley, and takes full advantage of all that the local green spaces have to offer, primarily through cycling and cross-country skiing.

Born and raised in Deep River, Katie returned home after completing her Bachelors of Applied Science in Geological Engineering and Masters in Geochemistry with a focus on Isotope Hydrology. She has been working at Chalk River Laboratories and now NPD for the past decade. Her previous work with CNL was focused on environmental remediation activities at the Chalk River site. Now, she’s excited to support CNL’s clean-up mission at the NPD site.

Bree Nixon is a communications officer for Canada’s largest environmental cleanup. Bree specializes in Community Relations and holds a key role supporting the private property testing and remediation project within the municipality. A long-time community member herself, Bree is well positioned to assist home owners and residents throughout the property testing, design and remediation process if historic low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) is found on their property. At a broader level, Bree works with regional realtor associations to help ensure stakeholders and people buying and selling properties in Port Hope are educated about the PHAI. Before joining CNL in 2017, Bree was the Chief Executive Officer of the Port Hope Chamber of Commerce and is currently a Board Member of the Northumberland Hills Hospital.

Brad began his career with AECL in 1997 as an Engineer in the Mo-99 Production Facility, and after six years in isotope production followed by a stint with the Fuel Development group, has spent the remainder of his time in the Decommissioning and Waste Management fields and has been with NPD since 2015.  After being raised in Northern Ontario he graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Western Ontario.  In addition to spending time with family, Brad embraces what the Ottawa Valley has to offer and enjoys outdoor activities such as golf, snowmobiling, camping and fishing.

Marilyne supervises the Chalk River Laboratory (CRL) Aquatic Toxicity Laboratory and she is currently leading the implementation of Good Laboratory Practice for the conduct of pre-clinical health studies at CRL.  Marilyne and her team are interested in understanding the effects of chemicals and ionizing radiation on living organisms.  The team carries out field and laboratory studies, including multigenerational studies, in the context of single or multiple stressors.  By analysing molecular, cellular, organ, organism, or reproductive changes, the team evaluates the risks associated with exposure.  Throughout her career at CNL, Marilyne has supervised over 50 students and has taken part in a number of educational initiatives

Stephanie is involved in a wide array of environmental studies to improve the understanding of the environmental impacts and waste of SMR operations and enhance knowledge of naturally occurring and anthropogenic radionuclides in the environment.  She has extensive experience planning large-scale field research, conducting field and laboratory studies and communicating research findings through technical and scientific writing.  Studies in which Stephanie is proficient include systematic data collection, radiochemical method development and data analysis.  Stephanie’s research at CNL lead her to pursue graduate studies in the Specialization in Chemical and Environmental Toxicology program at the University of Ottawa.  Her thesis focus will be on the behaviour and transport of polonium-210 in differing Canadian environments.

Leslie has worked with the Environmental Protection Program since 2008.  She is responsible for ensuring ISO 14001 certification and continual improvement of the site Environmental Management System.  Ensuring compliance with Canadian and provincial regulations and biodiversity management and monitoring are other key components of her job at WL.  She has recently taken on further work to advance sustainability efforts at all CNL sites.  She holds a Masters of Science in Environmental Practice and a Bachelors in Environmental Studies. During days off Leslie enjoys hiking, snowshoeing, curling and paddle boarding.

George heads a section that develops waste processing and treatment technology for nuclear legacy and power reactor waste streams. George is trained and specialized in chemical engineering process development and chemistry of used fuel reprocessing, nuclear gaseous, liquid & solid waste treatment including Sr-90 and Cs-137 removal, emission reduction & monitoring, and glass and cement waste forms, with more than 25 years of experience in China, Belgium, and Canada. He has led and participated in chemical engineering and chemistry support to disposition of stored liquid waste and research reactor used fuel, and Sr-90 remediation.  George currently leads efforts on understanding SMR waste generation and environmental impact, orphan nuclear waste stream treatment, and feasibility study of SMR used fuel reprocessing and disposal.

Grace has a background in environmental geoscience and has worked on a number of different nuclear projects in the UK, including Dounreay Site Restoration, regeneration of the Rolls Royce nuclear site as well as a large scale transformation program with the UK’s Ministry of Defense. At CNL, Grace is managing the roll out of the new Land Use Program and the transformation of the Decommissioning and Demolition function to the Cleanup Function. She is also involved in waste management and the Transportation of Dangerous Goods function, as well as waste support across CNL sites in support of  CNL’s Mission to Restore and Protect the Environment.

Sarah has lived in Deep River for over 20 years, working with AECL and CNL on progressively challenging positions, Health Physics, Radiation Protection management in NRU, then switching focus to Decommissioning at the CRL site, prior to her current role. Sarah is very passionate about the remediation activities happening at all CNL sites, and is excited to be part of clean-up of the environment, leaving a better future for all.

I have been working as a Mechanical Engineer in WL Engineering since 2012. I work every day to make WL site one of the best and safest decommissioning site in the world. From decommissioning projects of nuclear facilities to designing new low level waste treatment systems, I relish the verity of work we do in ERM. I am currently working on multiple large waste management and decommissioning projects. I enjoy helping others and solving engineering problems. Growing up I loved nature and admired the Jungle book. I found part of that right here in Pinawa with bears, wolves and deer (lots of them).  I love playing with my two kids, watching too many movies and playing video games as much as I can.

Meggan has spent most of her 15 years with CNL in waste management and decommissioning, thus recognizing the importance of the NSDF to the CRL site. Now serving as the Director for the NSDF project, she continues to build on her career at CNL. Meggan has a background in physics and completed her graduate studies in hazardous waste management. She enjoys all the recreational adventures the Ottawa Valley has to offer on both land and water.

Sandra is a long-time CNL employee, having split her time between Chalk River Laboratories and the Port Hope Area Initiative over the last 14 years. Now back in the Ottawa Valley working for the NSDF project in environmental assessment and licensing approvals, Sandra contributes to a key part of CNL’s environmental remediation mission. On her off hours, Sandra enjoy spending time outdoors and exploring the Valley whatever the season.

Mike has been working as a licensing engineer for the NSDF project since its commencement, particularly on long-term safety assessments and calculations for radiological dose consequence. He has over 12 years of experience in public and private sectors and is the co-author of the NSDF Safety Case, the first radiological disposal safety case in Canada. Mike has lived in Deep River for 6 years and enjoys going out for walks with his dog.

Reisa joined CNL and the NSDF team in the winter of 2020 where she currently works on supporting Regulatory Approvals and its monitoring commitments. She graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology and from McMaster University with a Master of Science degree in Earth and Environmental Science. Reisa is relatively new to Deep River, but has found fun in cross-country skiing, tennis and exploring the beaches along the Ottawa River.

Jeff has been with CNL since 2010, working in the technical support group for the NRU reactor before transitioning to the NSDF engineering team. With a background in mechanical engineering and experience in the automotive and aerospace industries, he has been lending his skills to the NSDF project since 2018. Jeff now calls the Ottawa Valley his home and loves the outdoor adventures it has to offer.

Sarah is a Project Leader and Fuel Program Specialist with 13 years experience planning and leading interdisciplinary projects at CNL. Her projects have focused on lifecycle management of spent fuel inventories, programmatic and hardware upgrades to support the NRU Reactor 2016 license renewal and developing and implementing equipment reliability programs for licensed nuclear facilities. Sarah is a certified Project Management Professional, holds a Bachelor of Science, and is completing a Master of Science in Environmental Practice. In her free time, she enjoys a variety of outdoor activities with her family.

Patrick has been with the company for 16 years holding various project management positions. In his current role, he supports the team responsible for decommissioning building 250 and the 200 series facilities which supported NRX operations. In addition, he works with the Operations team to support and solve various technical challenges at CRL and our offsite locations. Outside of work, Patrick enjoys spending time outdoors working on a long list of projects of his own while trying out his new role as a dad.

Meghan is a biologist in the Natural Resources Management Branch and has been with CNL since 2014. Her work includes the development and implementation of the biodiversity monitoring program on the Chalk River Site focusing on tracking wildlife presence and distribution to ensure effective protection and mitigation measures are implemented.

Meghan holds a Masters degree in Environmental and Life Science from Trent University, where she specialized in Wildlife Ecology and Evolution. Her diverse experience includes roles with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, giving her a broad background in managing both aquatic and terrestrial species at risk.