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COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: CNL’s Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF) hits key milestone with first round of public hearings underway

By myFM News/Oldies 107.7 staff Feb 22, 2022 | 4:48 PM

Design plans for the Near Surface Disposal Facility at the Chalk River Labs site.

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) is requesting the that the operating license at the Chalk River Labs be amended in order to construct the proposed Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF). The current license authorizes CNL to operate a range of nuclear facilities, radioisotope labs, waste management facilities and other supporting facilities. CNL is looking for approval to build the Near Surface Disposal Facility.

Part one of the two part hearing got started on Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022, and provided a detailed overview of the planned project followed by questions by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC).

The NSDF would host up to 1-million cubic meters of low-level radioactive waste and be located approximately one kilometer away from the Ottawa River at the Chalk River Labs. The design life for the Near Surface Disposal Facility is over 500 years which CNL says is enough time for the low level waste to decay to normal levels you would find in the natural environment.

If approved, CNL is proposing to build the first phase of the NSDF within the next three years.

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories says 95% of the waste would be coming from the facility in Chalk River, 5% from other AECL sites in Canada and the other 5% from commercial entities such as universities and hospitals. CNL says they currently have approximately 300,000 cubic meters of low level radioactive waste in storage and expect to generate another 600,000 cubic meters of waste through planned clean up and remediation efforts in Chalk River.

Staff from CNL talked about potential impacts and say they’re prepared for extreme events including forest fires, up to a 10,000-year earthquake, tornadoes, climate change, extreme rainfall and have designed the facility to account for back to back 100-year storm events.

The most common concern raised was over proximity to the Ottawa River and potential impacts. CNSC staff have conducted a robust and rigorous Environmental Assessment with input from Indigenous Nations, communities and the public. Members with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and CNL have both said they will ensure the Ottawa River remains protected. The nuclear safety regulator says the design includes safety features that will contain the waste and says the proposed location is suitable.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission says the Near Surface Disposal Facility project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental impacts. The nuclear safety commission says the NSDF facility design provides safe operation, decommission, closure and provides adequate protection for workers, Indigenous Peoples, the Public and the environment over the near and long-term. CNL has also committed to an environmental assessment follow-up monitoring program.

During the first round of the public hearings Tuesday afternoon, the Ministry of Environment in Quebec said they are satisfied by measures being taken to address safety to people and the environment.

CNSC staff are recommending to amend the license at the Chalk River Labs to allow for construction of the NSDF construction.

Citizen’s groups from Ontario and Quebec raised some concerns ahead of the hearings today. A report from the Concerned Citizens of Renfrew says the landfill would stand 60 feet tall, with some of the contents remaining dangerously radioactive for thousands of years, when the NSDF is only expected to last a couple hundred years. CNL maintains the low level radioactive waste would decay to normal levels you would find in the natural environment in a couple hundred years.

A scientist and researcher for the Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area, Ole Hendrickson, says the CNSC has made a massive error noting packages in the waste mound will be more radioactive than the vast majority of ore samples, even 10,000 years from now.

Referencing the Near Surface Disposal Facility, Johanna Echlin of the Old Fort William (Quebec) Cottagers’ Association, says you couldn’t find a worse site for this dump if you tried.

The citizens’ critique of key licensing documents found a number of critical flaws ranging from a failure to provide detailed information about what would go into the dump, to a failure to note serious deficiencies in the siting process for the facility. During the hearings today, CNL said low-level radioactive waste, including from decommissioned buildings on-site, will be stored in the NSDF.

Part two of the hearings gets underway May 31st and depending on COVID-19 restrictions at the time, will likely be hosted in Pembroke. Elected officials with the County of Renfrew have agreed to support the CNL in their application for the Near Surface Disposal Facility. The public, Indigenous Nations and communities are encouraged to take part in the second hearing to express views directly to the nuclear safety commission.

Requests to intervene must be filed with the Commission Secretariat by April 11th, 2022, using the online request form or the contact information below.

The request to intervene must include the following information:

  • a written submission of the comments to be presented to the Commission.
  • a statement setting out whether the requester wishes to intervene by way of written submission only or by way of written submission and oral presentation
  • the requester’s name, address, telephone number and email address

For more information contact:

Senior Tribunal Officer, Secretariat
Tel.: 613-858-7651 or 1-800-668-5284
Fax: 613-995-5086
Email: interventions@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca

Overhead view of the proposed NSDF project which CNL says will not be visible from the Ottawa River. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission says they are confident the Near Surface Disposal Facility for low-level nuclear waste will not impact the Ottawa River adding the NSDF project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

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CNL says only low-level radioactive waste will be stored at a proposed disposal facility