STEPHEN RICCIO
PONTIAC March 17, 2021
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) hosted an interactive ‘Fact or Fiction’ webinar on March 17 regarding two of its hopeful projects along the Ottawa River: the proposed Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF) for low-level waste at Chalk River Laboratories and the Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD) closure project in Rolphton, Ont.
The webinar had roughly 90 people tuned in, and the CNL had created poll questions throughout that tested . . .
the attendees knowledge on a series of statements about each project.
The NSDF is a project planned within the Chalk River laboratory territory that would largely consist of waste from the Chalk River site, which would make up 90 per cent, in addition to roughly five per cent from both hospitals and other sites belonging to Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL). It would contain only low-level radioactive waste, with contaminated soil and building debris making up most of the contents of the site. According to Sandra Faught, manager of regulatory affairs for the project, the mound would be 50 metres above the Ottawa River, making it safe regardless of expected flooding levels.
During a brief Q&A portion of the webinar, Faught explained to one citizen that the approval process from the CNSC should take two or three years before the operation begins in 2024-2025. After that, Faught said the disposal facility would continue to be operated for an estimated 50 to 70 years. According to studies cited by NSDF director Meggan Vickerd, the radioactivity of the low-level waste will be reduced by 2,000 times in the first 100 years. Surveillance of the site is planned for an estimated 300 years, but will continue for as long as deemed necessary.
Meanwhile the NPD is a proposed in-situ disposal of the historic reactor in Rolphton, which was established in 1962 as the first electricity-generating power reactor in the country. The disposal process will be the covering in concrete of the reactor to trap radioactive decay, followed by planned monitoring of the site for years to come. According to NPD manager of regulatory approval Katie Hogue, the design will contain and isolate the contamination within the reactor. According to CNL, the decision on the NPD should be made by the end of 2021.
The ‘Fact or Fiction’ statements regarding the NSDF were: there is contamination in the environment at the Chalk River site (Fact), the proposed location for the NSDF is unsafe (Fiction), the mound will have highly radioactive materials (Fiction), hazardous chemicals and heavy metals (Fiction), the NSDF will emit an unsafe level of radiation (Fiction), disposal will lead to abandonment of radioactive waste (Fiction) and the process has included engagement with Indigenous groups (Fact).
Those pertaining to the NPD were: NPD was the first nuclear reactor in Canada to supply energy to the electrical power grid (Fact), in-situ disposal (ISD) has never been done before in the nuclear industry (Fiction), entombment shouldn’t be done for nuclear facilities (Fiction), the disposal site will contaminate drinking water downstream (Fiction), and CNL will keep the ventilation stack after the project is complete so that the Chimney Swift can keep its popular roosting spot (Fact).
CNL staff hosting the meeting noted that they were impressed with the audience’s knowledge regarding the statements, with each statement being answered correctly by the vast majority of audience members who were responding to the interactive polls.
