CALEB NICKERSON
CHALK RIVER
Dec. 18, 2019
Last week, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) announced that they had submitted the revised draft environmental impact statement for their . . .
proposed near surface disposal facility (NSDF) project to the federal regulator.
The facility, which is planned to be the repository for roughly a million cubic metres of low-level radioactive waste, sits on land owned by CNL, roughly one kilometre from the Ottawa River. Ninety per cent of the waste planned for the NSDF is from the Chalk River site, mainly decommissioned buildings and legacy wastes, though some will be shipped in from elsewhere.
CNL states that the reason they chose the site was due to the fact that they already have extensive monitoring protocols in place, both on site and downriver. They also state that shipping the waste elsewhere would require nearly 45,000 transport truck trips.
Activist groups from the area have been vocal in their opposition to the plan, arguing that it is too close to the river and questioning the methods of protecting the surrounding environment.
CNL, a private consortium of companies overseen by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), have asserted that they are following all regulations and are consulting with neighbouring communities and local Indigenous groups.
The revised statement and supporting documents are all available here: https://www.cnl.ca/en/home/environmental-stewardship/near-surface-disposal-facility/nsdf-documents.aspx
Feedback on the revised draft can be made to communications@cnl.ca.
