New Brunswick Doesn't Want Nuclear Waste

New Brunswick doesn't want
nuclear waste

Waste storage repository still years away
but N.B. already paying into construction fund
by Alan Cochrane, Times & transcript staff, Sat. Feb. 26th, 2011

Canada's Nuclear Waste Management Organization is still looking
for a place to construct an $8-billion underground repository for
nuclear waste, but so far no New Brunswick communities have
expressed an interest in getting involved and the provincial
government is definitely not interested.

"We are not pursuing a nuclear waste site anywhere in this
province," Premier David Alward flatly stated this week when
asked about the idea.

Mike Krizanc, communications manager for the NWMO, said
yesterday that seven communities -- three in Saskatchewan and
four in Ontario -- have filed official expressions of interest. But any
potential sites will go through a rigourous screening process that
could take eight to 10 years.

"There's no firm timeline on this. We're going to take the time to
answer all the questions for them so people in those communities
can make an informed decision that is in their own best interest.
We're certainly not going to force this on anyone," Krizanc said.

Newspaper reports earlier this week cited NWMO internal
documents that suggested Saskatchewan -- along with New
Brunswick - was more receptive to a nuclear-waste site than
Ontario and Quebec. But Krizanc said that "receptiveness" was
limited to some media reports and editorials. So far, no one in
New Brunswick has come forward with a willingness for such a
facility. He said a notice of interest would have to come from an
elected body such as a municipal council or First Nations council.

The NWMO kicked off a process last spring looking for a community
willing to host an underground complex that would serve as a
long-term storage facility for all of Canada's nuclear waste. The
selection process could take up to 10 years.

Krizanc said the selection process begins with the willingness of a
community. After that, the proposed site would have to go through
an evaluation of its geology and proximity to population, water,
minerals, natural gas or other natural resources -- now and in the
future. He said the most likely suitable location would be far into
the deep granite of the Canadian Shield. The repository would be
located at least 500 metres deep in a solid rock formation. Areas
with unsuitable geology and other factors would be ruled out very
quickly.

The NWMO says the benefits of hosting such a facility would create
hundreds of jobs during construction and hundreds more after it is
up and running. If built today, the facility would cost $6 billion to
$8 billion, which translates into $16 billion to $24 billion down the
road, when you factor in the long-term management and
maintenance costs. Krizanc said it will be up to future generations
to decide what to do with the nuclear waste. If the process started
right away, it might not be ready until 2034, and then it would be
operational for 40 or 50 years.

The money for constructing and maintaining the facility will come
from a trust fund that was started in 2000 and already has roughly
$2 billion. The money comes from all companies that operate nuclear
reactors, like NB Power. So really, the money for the site comes from
consumers who purchase electricity.

NB Power stores nuclear waste on the site of the Point Lepreau
generating station and plans to continue doing so for at least
30 years.

NB Power spokeswoman Kathleen Duguay said nuclear fuel rods
are stored on site before they are placed into the reactor.

The irradiated fuel bundles are stored on site at Lepreau's own
Nuclear Waste Management Facility.

"A fuel bundle typically stays in the reactor for approximately six
months to 18 months," Duguay said. "This irradiated fuel (or spent
fuel) is removed from the reactor via automated fuelling machines
and stored underwater in a spent fuel bay. The fuel is stored in
water for two reasons: the water is a good shield from radiation,
and the water carries the heat away from the irradiated fuel bundle.
After seven years, the radioactivity and heat have decreased
enough to allow the irradiated fuel to be transferred to dry storage
in concrete canisters above ground located in our Solid Radioactive
Waste Management Facility. The canisters are on the property of
PLGS and are constantly monitored."

She said there are 81,000 irradiated fuel bundles stored in 150
canisters located at the Solid Radioactive Waste Management
Facility at the Point Lepreau Generating Station.

NB Power has set aside enough land and storage space to
accommodate 30 years' worth of spent fuel.

Refurbishment of New Brunswick's Point Lepreau Generating
Station is nearly complete, with a goal of returning it to service
this fall. It is expected to run for 30 years. The decommissioning
plant assumes that the irradiated fuel will remain in New Brunswick's
own Solid Radioactive Waste Management Facility until a permanent
site has been constructed or another solution is identified by the
Nuclear Waste Management Organization.