Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is planning a number of additional test boreholes as it continues to winnow down the number of potential sites for construction of a deep geologic repository for disposal of the nation’s spent nuclear reactor fuel.
The nongovernmental nonprofit is within five years of identifying a preferred location for the facility for site characterization and licensing, Lisa Frizzell, NWMO vice president for stakeholder relations, said earlier this month at an industry conference in Savannah, Ga.
Five locations, all in Ontario, are still in contention: Ignace, Manitouwadge, Homepayne, Huron-Kinloss, and South Bruce. “Selecting a site is within reach for us,” Frizzell said.
The disposal program, projected to cost $24 billion CAN ($18.7 billion) from start to finish, would place an anticipated 5.2 million used fuel bundles 500 meters underground.
Drilling of a first borehole began last November 22 miles west of Ignace and was completed in January. It was the first specific potential repository site within the broader area being considered, Frizzell said. The boreholes are intended to provide better understanding of the rock in which the spent fuel would be buried, along with the geology of a given area to ensure it is appropriate for radioactive waste disposal. The drilling takes roughly 90 days, using truck- or track-loaded gear, and is followed by several months of analysis of the collected samples.
“This initial borehole was continuously cored to a depth of about 1000 m (nearly 3,300 feet), or twice the expected potential repository depth,” Frizzell said in a follow-up email on May 11. “At this time, it is too early to draw conclusions from a single borehole – that’s why borehole drilling and testing will continue in this area to ensure the best possible information is brought to the site selection process.”
Geological conditions in the test area have not yet ruled it out for the repository, but additional analysis is needed, according to Frizzell. The Nuclear Waste Management Organization is also planning two more boreholes in the Ignace area, along with initial boreholes in the four other locations.
In March, NWMO officials held public meetings in Homepayne and Manitouwadge. The organization is collaborating with local leaders, residents, and indigenous communities to find a socially acceptable location, Frizzell said. “At this time, as discussions are ongoing, it would be inappropriate to speculate on the exact timing of next steps,” she said this week.
The NWMO formed in 2002, funded by three Canadian utilities and Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., for developing and carrying out a plan for permanent disposal of spent fuel from seven nuclear power and research facilities.
The “Adapted Phased Management” approach, approved in June 2007 by the Canadian government, involves six specific steps carried out over a period of decades: site selection and regulatory approval, site preparation and construction, operations, extending monitoring, decommissioning and closure, and postclosure monitoring. It is intended to be flexible enough to change with the times, including advances in global best practices and “evolving societal expectations.”
Site selection began in 2010 with 22 communities that expressed interest in hosting the facility. Selection of the preferred site will be based on three primary objectives: safety of the location, the ability to move fuel from current locations; and strong partnerships with both the participating communities and others in the area, including indigenous communities.
“This is a big project that’s going to affect a whole region,” Frizzell said. “So each of these communities has a constellation of communities around them that we also need to involve and engage with.”
The site-selection process is due to wrap up in 2023, followed by a detailed site characterization process beginning the next year. The license application would be filed with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission in 2028 and granted in 2032, according to NWMO’s timeline. That would lead to design and construction beginning in 2033 and operations a decade later.
The underground portion of the repository would be roughly 500 meters deep, in a 1 mile by 2 miles space. The spent fuel bundles would be stored within steel containers coated with copper for corrosion resistance. They would be encased in bentonite clay.
Surface facilities, including buildings to receive, inspect, and repackage the used fuel, would cover 250 acres.
NWMO Signs Cooperation Pacts with Foreign Orgs
Meanwhile, NWMO this week initiated or refreshed cooperation deals with corresponding organizations from Belgium, France, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
The agreements were signed Monday in Toronto at the annual meeting of the International Association for Environmentally Safe Disposal of Radioactive Materials, according to a press release.
The agreement with Belgium’s National Agency for Radioactive Waste and Enriched Fissile Material (ONDRAF/NIRAS) is new, while the others are being renewed, NWMO spokesman Bradley Hammond said by email. The Nuclear Waste Management Organization also has similar agreements in place with Finland, Japan, and South Korea.
“These agreements were negotiated over the last few months and are expected to remain in place for a number of years,” according to Hammond. “The agreements cover a range of NWMO and industry activities, including general updates on important milestones associated with Canada’s Plan, best practices associated with site selection process and research and development activities that are part of the technical program.”
