BURLEY: Transporting used nuclear fuel will be safe

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The Nuclear Waste Management Organization has always had the protection of people and the environment as its top priority and we were alarmed to see a column in the Toronto Sun earlier this week suggesting that transporting used nuclear fuel will be dangerous, secretive and done without consultation. Nothing could be further from the truth.

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In fact, safety is the very purpose of the NWMO’s existence. Our job is to move Canada’s used nuclear fuel to a deep geological repository — a permanent storage facility roughly 700 metres underground, where the used fuel will remain protected in a multi-barrier system enclosed in rock that has been disconnected from surface water for millions of years.

Over the very long term, that is a safer approach than leaving the used nuclear fuel where it is now — in temporary storage above ground.

Transportation of used nuclear fuel to the deep geological repository won’t begin until the 2040s and will take up to 50 years to complete. This will not be the first time radioactive materials are transported in Canada. Far from it.

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Canadian transportation regulations for radioactive materials have been in existence for more than 60 years and approximately one million packages of nuclear materials are already transported in Canada every year. They move by land, air, and sea — under strict regulations that ensure they are safe.

Other countries have shipped 20,000 shipments of used nuclear fuel worldwide over nearly 60 years by road, rail and water. There have been zero serious injuries, health effects or environmental consequences due to a release of radioactivity.

In Canada, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission regulates the transport of used nuclear fuel through a series of safety and security requirements covering the entire journey of a shipment, from the time it is initially packaged to its arrival at the final destination. Regulations specify package design and safety requirements. The packages must demonstrate the ability to withstand severe accident conditions and prevent the release of radioactive material into the environment under those conditions.

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These extreme tests are far more severe than accident scenarios seen in real life and include a drop test, puncture test, fire test and water immersion test.

The NWMO welcomes criticism and is always open to addressing concerns and answering questions from any group or individual and we are committed to collaborating with interested and potentially affected individuals and communities.

We have talked to thousands of Canadians about transportation at town halls, open houses, working group meetings, and technical tours of our Discovery and Demonstration Centre in Oakville, Ontario. We talk about it in media articles, columns, and letters to editors, as well as at our Learn More Centres in the communities that could host the deep geological repository. We also share our transportation documents on our website, including our Preliminary Transportation Plan and Planning Framework, which commits the NWMO to engage with the public on transportation over the next 20 years. We also publish an annual rolling summary since 2014 covering the ongoing conversations we’ve had with the public on this important topic.

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We understand people have visceral reactions to the idea of used nuclear materials and that’s exactly why we work as hard as we do to engage as many people as possible throughout this process.

This is not a project anyone takes lightly. Moving our used nuclear fuel to permanent storage is a massive responsibility, one that will ensure the waste we create is not left as a burden for future generations to manage and, through every step of the process, we will ensure people and the environment remain safe.

— Caitlin Burley is director of Strategic Programs and Transportation for Nuclear Waste Management Organization.

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