Contractors have begun work on the Port Granby facility in Ontario, Canada, a project that will involve relocating 450,000 cubic meters of historic low-level radioactive waste from the Lake Ontario shoreline.
Prime contractor Amec Foster Wheeler, which made the announcement Tuesday, has partnered with CB&I for the CDN $86.8 million contract the Port Hope Area Initiative (PHAI) awarded in July 2015. PHAI oversees long-term historic low-level waste projects for the Canadian government.
The Port Granby waste originated from uranium and radium refining activities completed by a former Crown corporation, Eldorado Nuclear, and its private sector predecessors between the 1930s and 1988.
The material will be stored over hundreds of years in an above-ground mound structure to be built about 700 meters north of the lake. Work will include waste excavation, construction of the facility, construction of a roadway to avoid using municipal roads for material transportation, and restoration of existing and new facility sites. The project is scheduled to wrap up in 2020, followed by long-term monitoring and maintenance.
“Our team plays an important role addressing this long-standing environmental issue safely by delivering this project to our customer’s requirements, while also supporting the community with economic opportunities,” Amec-CB&I Joint Venture Chairman Scott Anderson said in a statement.
The project will create regional economic benefits in the form of jobs, supplies, and services, as local subcontracts are awarded for construction activity and materials are purchased from local businesses, according to the announcement.
“Everything is now in place for us to start the clean-up phase of this important project,” PHAI General Manager Craig Hebert said in a statement. “Our contractor brings extensive international expertise to environmental projects such as this, and the PHAI has assembled a strong team to oversee the work with safety and environmental protection as our top priorities.”
