nuclear-news

Where to put Canada’s 2358873 radioactive used nuclear fuel bundles?

Nuclear waste seeks a home The Star.com  September 01, 2012“………A fuel bundle for a Candu nuclear power reactor is about the size of a fireplace log. As of June 30, 2011, Canada had 2,273,873 used fuel bundles stored at its nuclear plants in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick.

Another 85,000 or so have been added since then.

In total, they’d fill about six NHL hockey rinks, stacked up as high
as the boards.

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization, formed by the three electric utilities that run nuclear reactors, wants to bury the waste deep underground in caverns excavated from stable rock, where it can lie undisturbed forever.

The depth will probably depend on the site’s geology. A facility proposed to hold less-potent radioactive waste at the Bruce nuclear site near Kincardine will be 680 metres deep. By comparison, the CN Tower is 553 metres tall.

The NWMO is looking for a “willing” community to agree to take the $16-to-$24-billion project. The host community itself will decide how to define “willing.” Candidate communities will have multiple opportunities to withdraw if they get cold feet, the NWMO says.

As it moves through a nine-stage selection process, the NWMO hopes to have narrowed the field to one or two communities by 2015, then spend until about 2020 deciding on a specific site within the chosen community.

After that, it will take three to five years to do an extensive environmental assessment of the site. The proponents will also have to satisfy the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission that their plan makes sense, and obtain a license to construct and operate the facility.

Then, it will take six to 10 years to build. The NWMO doesn’t expect the first bundles to be stored until 2035…. http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1250109–nuclear-waste-seeks-a-home#.UEH_alKdoKU.twitter

September 3, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, wastes