Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) continues to progress in decommissioning the Douglas Point site – the historic home of Canada’s first full-scale nuclear power plant, the Douglas Point Nuclear Generation Station. The demolition of Douglas Point’s Administrative Building and Ancillary Facilities began in late 2024 and lasted approximately 10 weeks before it was safely completed.
In preparation for building demolition, the team characterized the non-nuclear buildings, including the Administrative Building and Ancillary Facilities, to identify any potential contaminants. Workers also verified the structures as cold and dark with isolation and air gapping of all electrical and mechanical systems. This included digging a perimeter trench around the buildings down to bedrock, which ensured all services were isolated. Prior to the actual demolition, which was performed by WSP Global Inc. (WSP), the team completed abatement of all hazardous materials.
WSP demolished small building sections, allowing them to efficiently segregate and manage waste categories. They performed waste checks and documentation for off-site transport and maintained a clean demolition work area. With the final hazardous material abatement, the team carefully segregated, minimized, and disposed of in the proper waste streams.
Demolition of the Administration Building and Ancillary Facilities marks a huge achievement for the ongoing decommissioning project aimed at fully removing all buildings and structures from the site, and remediating to a standard of industrial reuse. CNL is proud of the Douglas Point decommissioning team, comprised of CNL workers and contractors, who worked together to achieve this milestone in a safe and timely manner.
Next steps in the project include dismantling the Turbine Building, before tackling the nuclear support buildings and clearing out the reactor building. CNL plans to complete the final phases of the decommissioning project – the Reactor Building and the Spent Fuel Canister Area – after 2030.
The Douglas Point decommissioning project is part of CNL’s mission to restore and protect Canada’s environment by removing and responsibly managing federal nuclear liabilities.
