Canada’s path to net zero emissions includes nuclear energy – and a clear plan to manage used nuclear fuel

Canada has joined a growing list of nations committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 as part of the fight against climate change. Governments have acknowledged that nuclear energy is an important part of that long-term goal, and a source of energy that the federal and provincial governments, including Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick are investing in through their plans to pursue new technologies, such as small modular reactors. A necessary by-product of generating nuclear power is used nuclear fuel. Although its radioactivity level decreases rapidly with time, the used fuel remains a potential health risk for hundreds of thousands of years. Used fuel must be contained and isolated from people and the environment, essentially indefinitely – and that safety imperative is at the heart of the plan underway to manage used nuclear fuel over the long term. Canada’s used nuclear fuel is safely managed today in facilities licensed for interim storage. These facilities are located at nuclear reactor sites in Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick, and at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s sites in Manitoba and Chalk River Laboratories in Ontario. Though this approach is safe and effective, it has always been understood that it is not a permanent solution. Fortunately, Canada has a plan to protect people and the environment long term – and it’s well under way. And it’s a plan developed based on years of input from Canadians, including Indigenous peoples, international scientific consensus, Indigenous Knowledge and decades of research. Canada’s plan calls for managing all the country’s used nuclear fuel underground, in a deep geological repository. This will allow for the centralized containment and isolation of Canada’s used fuel in a safe, suitable location with informed and willing hosts. Canada’s plan also involves the development of a safe transportation program to move used nuclear fuel from the facilities where it’s currently stored to the repository. The plan aligns with international scientific consensus, which has determined that a deep geological repository is the safest approach to contain used nuclear fuel, protecting it from potential disturbances on the Earth’s surface, including earthquakes and future ice ages. In Finland, for example, a repository is already under construction with a plan to launch operations in the mid-2020s, making Finland the first country with an operating repository for used nuclear fuel. Similar projects are also moving forward in Sweden, Switzerland and France. Here in Canada, the organization tasked with implementing Canada’s plan is the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO). In 2002, the organization was given the mandate under federal legislation to study approaches to manage used nuclear fuel and bring back a recommendation. The NWMO then engaged with Canadians and Indigenous peoples in a three-yearlong cross-country dialogue. It was through that dialogue that Canada’s plan emerged. “When we asked Canadians and Indigenous peoples what we should do about used nuclear fuel, they told us that we shouldn’t wait,” says Laurie Swami, President and CEO of the

NWMO. “They said we should take action now to provide a long-term solution for used nuclear fuel, rather than passing that burden on to our children and grandchildren.” Swami says the NWMO is using the best environmental practices and interweaving western science and Indigenous Knowledge to ensure that Canada’s plan is fulfilled in a way that protects people and the environment, including our precious water resources. The implementation of Canada’s plan will unfold over many decades. The site selection process for the deep geological repository was initiated in May 2010 and over several years, 22 municipalities and Indigenous communities expressed interest in exploring their potential to host the project. “This project will only proceed in an area with a suitable rock formation that can meet strict safety requirements, and with informed and willing hosts working together to implement it,” added Swami. Two potential siting areas remain, the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation-Ignace area in Northwestern Ontario and the Saugeen Ojibway Nation-South Bruce area in southern Ontario. A single, preferred site is expected to be selected in 2024 and repository construction is expected to start in the 2040s. A core part of the NWMO’s work is collaborating with potential host communities – including Indigenous communities – in an inclusive and respectful manner that supports the local area’s future well-being. In fact, the project will only proceed with interested communities, First Nation and Métis communities, and surrounding municipalities working together to implement it. Once the repository is constructed, used fuel transportation, handling and placement operations will take place over a period of 45 years or more, after which the repository will be monitored for an extended period before being decommissioned and closed. All in, the process is expected to take approximately 175 years. The upside of this ambitious plan will extend well beyond protecting people and the environment, including significant benefits for the communities that will eventually host the repository. As one of the largest environmental infrastructure projects in Canadian history, this project has the potential to help fuel the local and surrounding economy, creating thousands of jobs – both directly and indirectly – for generations to come. Learn more about Canada’s plan at nwmo.ca.

They said we should take action now to provide a long-term solution for used nuclear fuel, rather than passing that burden on to our children and grandchildren.