What About Future Long-Term Waste Management?
The Canadian nuclear industry and the Government of Canada are developing several long-term radioactive waste management solutions. The following are some of these initiatives.
Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO)
The NWMO was established in 2002 by Ontario Power Generation Inc., Hydro-Québec and New Brunswick Power Corporation in accordance with the Nuclear Fuel Waste Act to assume responsibility for the long-term management of Canada’s used nuclear fuel. The NWMO has the mandate to implement Adaptive Phased Management (APM), a process to find a solution for the long-term storage of used nuclear fuel – a solution that is socially acceptable, technically sound, environmentally responsible and economically feasible to Canadians.
In May 2010, as part of the APM approach, the NWMO launched its Site Selection Process to select a willing community to host a geological repository for the long-term management of Canada’s used nuclear fuel.
Read more:
- The CNSC’s Role in the NWMO’s APM Project
- CNSC Fact Sheet on Regulating Canada’s Geological Repositories
- Frequently Asked Questions About the Transportation of Used Nuclear Fuel
- Frequently Asked Questions About the CNSC’s Role in the NWMO’s APM Project
- November 5, 2008, Commission Meeting: Technical Briefing on current status and future progress being made in the management of radioactive waste in Canada
- December 9, 2010, Commission Meeting: Nuclear Waste Management Organization – Status of implementing Adaptive Phased Management
- View the NWMO’s presentation during the December 9, 2010, Commission Meeting (source: NWMO’s Web site)
- View the CNSC’s presentation (PDF) during the December 9, 2010, Commission Meeting
Ontario Power Generation’s proposed deep geologic repository (DGR)
Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG)proposed DGR will be a long-term storage facility for its low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste. Both an environmental assessment and a regulatory review are underway for a site preparation and construction licence. The site for the proposed DGR is the Bruce nuclear site in the Municipality of Kincardine. OPG is proposing that a deep rock vault be constructed in the limestone layer, hundreds of metres below ground. Read more about the current status of OPG’s DGR.
Port Hope Area Initiative
The Port Hope Area Initiative (PHAI) is a community-initiated environmental remediation project. Its goal is the cleanup and the safe long-term management of historic low-level radioactive waste in the Port Hope area. The federal government, through NRCan with an agreement from AECL, is responsible for the long-term safe management throughout the Initiative as well as into the future.
Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program
The Government of Canada’s Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program was launched in 2006 and provides a long-term strategy to manage legacy waste and contamination on AECL sites, including Chalk River Laboratories and Whiteshell Laboratories.
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