Canadian waste repository moves forward

Thursday, 7 May 2015

A federally appointed joint review panel has recommended that the Canadian government should approve a proposed deep geologic repository for low and intermediate level nuclear waste in Ontario.

Environment minister Leona Algukkaq formally received the joint review panel's 457-page environmental assessment report on the proposed repository, which has now been publically released. The federal government will review the report before issuing a decision statement on whether the project may proceed to the next phase of the permitting process.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency will invite Aboriginal groups and registered participants to comment on potential conditions and follow-up requirements before the ministerial decision is taken. If the decision statement favours the project, any conditions it includes will become legally binding.

The proposed repository would provide the long-term management of low and intermediate level waste from Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) Bruce, Pickering and Darlington plants. The waste consists of contaminated industrial items from routine nuclear power plant operations, such as cleaning materials and protective clothing, used mechanical parts, ion exchange resins and filters.

The waste is currently stored at the Western Waste Management Facility (WWMF), a surface facility on the Bruce nuclear site. The proposed Deep Geologic Repository Project (DGR) would see OPG build and operate an underground disposal facility for the long-term storage and management of the waste, adjacent to the existing WWMF.

The DGR would be constructed in limestone at a depth of approximately 680 metres under the surface. The underground facilities would include two shafts, tunnels, emplacement rooms and various underground service areas and installations, while surface facilities would include underground access and ventilation buildings, a waste package receiving building and related infrastructure.

In its conclusions, the joint panel said that it with OPG that the DGR was the preferred solution for the long-term management of low and intermediate level waste and was preferable to the current method of storage at the WWMF. It also said that the DGR should be built sooner rather than later, saying that although it noted the importance of reducing and, if appropriate, reusing and recycling the waste, such opportunities were currently limited. "The Panel is of the view that the risk of waiting until technologies are available to eliminate the hazards associated with longer-lived radionuclides outweighs the benefits," it said.

OPG senior vice president Laurie Swami welcomed the panel's conclusion that the project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects. "The idea for this project came from the community," she said. OPG is reviewing the recommendations outlined in the report.

The joint panel's recommendation is the latest stage in a process of study and consultation that has already taken 14 years. A final decision on the project is expected from the environment minister within 120 days.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News