Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) anticipates within a matter of months further narrowing the number of locations being considered for a spent nuclear fuel disposal repository.
“The NWMO is working to identify a single, preferred location for a deep geological repository for used nuclear fuel, in an area with informed and willing hosts. There are currently five areas involved in the site selection process,” Mahrez Ben Belfadhel, NWMO vice president of site selection, said in a recent statement to Weapons Complex Morning Briefing. “The NWMO will select a single, preferred location by 2023 by gradually narrowing down the number of communities. We expect to narrow our areas of focus further within the next few months.”
Belfadhel did not offer a more specific timeline or say how many locations might remain in consideration following the upcoming culling.
The NWMO is a nonprofit organization funded by Canadian utilities to site, build, and operate the facility for underground disposal of an expected 5.2 million bundles of used fuel from nuclear power plants. Site selection began in 2010 and has already eliminated 16 locations from consideration. Five remain, all in Ontario: Homepayne and the surrounding area; Huron-Kinloss; Ignace and the surrounding area; Manitouwadge and the surrounding area; and South Bruce.
Site selection involves ongoing technical and social studies of potential locations, focusing on three areas, Belfadhel said: the strong safety case for a deep geologic repository in a specific area; the potential to establish a “safe, secure, and socially acceptable” approach for transporting the used fuel; and the ability to establish strong relationships with the applying community and other impacted communities, including First Nations.
