The first borehole has been fully drilled in Canada’s search for a location to dispose of radioactive spent fuel from the nation’s nuclear reactors, according to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO).
Drilling began on Nov. 6, 2017, and wrapped up on Jan. 16 at the site roughly 22 miles west of the township of Ignace in Ontario, NWMO said in a press release. The area is among a number of potential sites for a planned deep geologic repository for used fuel.
The borehole was drilled to provide NWMO with core samples and enable the nonprofit organization to access deeper rock for its study “to build an understanding of the characteristics of the rock at or near a potential repository,” the release says.
The core samples and borehole will be studied throughout the year. Four other locations are also being analyzed in NWMO’s search for a location with both a viable rock formation for the borehole and a supportive community to host the spent fuel, the organization said. NWMO hopes to select its preferred location by 2023, and from 2040 to 2045 to open the 500-meter-deep repository for up to 5.4 million spent fuel bundles.
Sweden’s Radiation Safety Authority (SSSM) on Tuesday said it had recommended government approval of license applications from the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co. (SKB) for construction and operation of spent reactor fuel encapsulation and permanent disposal facilities.
“The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority assesses that SKB has the potential to ensure safe management and final disposal of spent nuclear fuel so that human health and the environment are protected against harmful effects of radiation,” Ansi Gerhardsson, SSSM head of section, said in a press release.
In a separate recommendation, though, the Swedish Land and Environment Court said more data was needed on the copper capsules that will hold the spent fuel in storage, World Nuclear News reported.
SKB is seeking government approval to build the repository in the east coast municipality of Östhammar, while the encapsulation plant would be placed nearby in Oskarshamn. The facilities would open in the early 2030s to manage final disposal of roughly 12,000 metric tons of used fuel from Swedish nuclear power plants.
“There are a number of prerequisites for SSM’s recommendation to approve the licence applications, such as the continued development of [safety analysis reports] and management systems for these facilities in accordance with the step-wise permitting process under the Act on Nuclear Activities,” Gerhardsson stated. “This means that SKB, at several stages of an ongoing process, must submit further information and analysis to be examined and approved by SSM before the company is allowed to move on to the next step of the process.”
From The Wires
From the Las Vegas Sun: Speaking to U.S. Conference of Mayors, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman warns of danger of nuclear waste transport to the planned Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada.
From the San Diego Union-Tribune: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approves reduction in insurance required for retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Plant in California.
