The Nuclear Waste Management Organization is reaffirming its confidence in two potential sites for the proposed deep geological repository.
The NWMO says its updated research regarding a DGR in the Municipality of South Bruce reinforces its Confidence in Safety reports, originally published in 2022.
Dr. Paul Gierszewski, who is the lead author of the reports and the director of safety and technical research with the NWMO, says: “The measurements we do on the hydraulic properties in the rock [show] those are very strong barrier rock. It’s really quite remarkable in its properties at the South Bruce site.”
Characteristics such as the composition of the bedrock, seismic activity, and long-term stability were considered.
The NWMO has studied different aspects of the bedrock which would be the location for the DGR, which is proposed to be placed between 650-800 metres below ground level.
Nuclear waste would be encased in a multiple-barrier system, and placed within the DGR where it would be minimally disturbed, but would also be accessible should further use of the spent fuel bundles be needed.
“The larger question that each site has to go through is ‘is this site safe for the wastes that are intended to go in there?’ and you’ll find that each site has its own optimization. You have to listen to the rock and work with it.”
Gierszewski says that what is important for communities to take away from the updated report is the fact that the spent fuel that would be housed in the DGR would be safe, particularly when it comes to concerns about contamination of groundwater, the proximity to the Teeswater River, and the relative proximity to Lake Huron.
“Certainly these reports are establishing our confidence that the sites are safe and we can transport the fuel to them. The next step in both the siting areas is for the communities to decide their willingness to partner with us on these projects.”
Once a site is chosen with informed and willing hosts, additional technical studies will be conducted at the selected site to provide more precise information on repository design.
