Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) announced today that it has re-evaluated its proposal for the Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF) at Chalk River Laboratories, and has made the decision to only include low-level radioactive waste in the NSDF. Waste intended for disposal in the NSDF will meet the guidelines set out for low-level radioactive waste by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Throughout the project development and design phase for the proposed NSDF, CNL has interacted regularly with staff at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), which includes responding to questions and comments. CNL has also considered comments received from the public as part of the Environment Assessment process.
Intermediate level waste will continue to be managed in interim storage at Chalk River Laboratories until a long-term disposal solution for this category of radioactive waste has been developed and approved.
CNL has received approximately 200 comments on the draft Environmental Impact Statement that was submitted to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and released for public review. The next step is for CNL to respond to those comments, and, subject to their acceptance by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, to update and finalize the Environmental Impact Statement.
As the NSDF proposal moves through the Environmental Assessment process, CNL will continue to actively engage with stakeholders and Indigenous communities. This ongoing engagement will help inform the process as CNL prepares the final version of the Environmental Impact Statement.
The NSDF will provide safe disposal of:
- Legacy waste from 65 years of operations;
- Waste from the remediation of contaminated lands;
- Debris from decommissioning outdated infrastructure at Chalk River Laboratories as part of ongoing site revitalization.
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Contact:
Patrick Quinn
Director, Corporate Communications
1-866-886-2325