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Town takes interest in nuclear waste storage
BRYAN MEADOWS
11/27/2009

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Ignace councillors want to know more about nuclear waste storage in the Canadian Shield.

And before he went on, Mayor Lionel Cloutier stressed during an interview Thursday that council is simply “investigating‘‘ the concept.

A delegation travelled to southern Ontario this month to attend the Nuclear Waste Management Organization‘s (NWMO) Learn More program, which makes information and funding available to help communities, organizations and individuals learn more about adaptive phased management of nuclear waste storage.

“I‘m not totally against it,‘‘ said Cloutier. “I just think it‘s worth investigating.”

The two-day fact-finding trip took councillors to the Kincardine area where spent nuclear fuel is being stored above ground near the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station.

“I want to stay out there as skeptical,” Cloutier said. “I want to ensure everything is proven (before committing to underground storage of nuclear waste). We need to know the safety of it and how they plan to do it.”

He said he realizes that the “whole issue is controversial. The not in my backyard syndrome prevails from attitudes of years gone by.”

He said he felt that way too, “but (his views) have changed somewhat after visiting the Kincardine facility firsthand.”

“Today when I hear nuclear, I think of medicine, cures for cancer, clean sources of energy for Ontario Power Generation plants,” he said, adding that if he could be assured of the safety of deep-underground waste storage, “my new vision is a world-class centre of excellence in proximity to our community, hundreds of new jobs, and billions of dollars (for) the Northwestern Ontario economy.”

But that‘s a long way off.

“First we need to know if we have the right terrain and bedrock,‘‘ said Cloutier. “That involves a lot of specialized work, and even going that far will create a great deal of economic activity for the entire region,” he said, noting town council would have the option of cancelling the investigation at any time.

NWMO spokesman Michael Krizanc said Thursday that Ignace is the first community “anywhere” to make arrangements to visit the Bruce nuclear plant and waste management facility under the Learn More program.

The program is the result of NWMO consultations launched in May with organizations and individuals. Comments and views gleaned from the sessions are being used to refine and confirm an open, transparent, fair and inclusive process for selecting a site for the long-term management of Canada‘s used nuclear fuel.

During their tour, the Ignace delegates visited the NWMO offices in Toronto and the Bruce plant, where they had an opportunity to meet with NWMO staff and learn about adaptive phased management.

Also explored were the deep geological repository project; NWMO‘s proposed process for selecting a site; the need for an open and transparent process and involvement of people in any community interested in the project; involvement of Aboriginal peoples; and the regulatory approval process of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

Krizanc said NWMO is interested in learning from communities the kind of information they might require as they gauge interest in hosting a geological repository once the siting process is launched.

“For us, it‘s a learning experience so we can better understand what kind of questions communities might (have),” Krizanc said.

The NWMO will not be looking for a site until the selection process has been finalized.

As for the next steps in Ignace‘s nuclear waste storage investigation, Cloutier said council plans to apply for funding from NWMO to hire an independent expert/consulting firm.

Consultants would help the community understand the long-term care of used nuclear fuel produced by Canada‘s nuclear reactors, he said, noting area residents would be fully engaged and consulted during development of any long-term vision or strategic planning exercise.

“There has been no commitment,‘‘ said Cloutier. “We‘re just putting it out there – to check it all out.”

Meanwhile, efforts by NWMO continue to refine its draft siting plan for long-term safe containment and isolation of Canada‘s used nuclear fuel.

The $16- to $24-billion project will involve development of a repository and a centre of expertise.

The document, Proposed Process for Selecting a Site, is available on the NWMO website.

The nuclear waste project will be implemented through a long-term partnership between the NWMO and a willing community. The system will be designed so that the waste will be continually monitored and retrievable for an extended period of time, NWMO says.

The centre of expertise will focus on technical, environmental and community studies related to the design and operation of deep geological repositories. It will become a hub for national and international scientific collaboration for many decades, NWMO says.

Construction of the facility will proceed after NWMO demonstrates that all safety, health and environmental protection standards set by regulatory authorities can be met or exceeded, it says.

Based in Toronto, NWMO was established in 2002 by Ontario Power Generation Inc., Hydro-Quebec 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, which is created as a result of nuclear power production.
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