Introduction to the NWMO
Welcome to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s (NWMO) triennial report for the period covering 2020 through 2022. During this time, we have made significant progress implementing Canada’s plan for the safe, long-term management of used nuclear fuel, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the past three years, we maintained momentum by advancing our technical studies, building awareness through social engagement, and collaborating with the potential host communities remaining in our site selection process.
Some key milestones were reached during this period, including completing the initial borehole drilling studies that will help us understand the geology in the siting areas to support site selection, successfully demonstrating our engineered-barrier system through a mock emplacement trial, and publishing our Confidence in Safety reports that explain why we are confident that both sites could safely host a deep geological repository. We have also continued to act on the Reconciliation Policy we established in 2019, most recently by publishing our first Reconciliation Report (2021), continuing our journey towards Reconciliation.
In this triennial report, we provide an overview of our activities to implement Canada’s plan during the past three years and an update on our financial position.
Submitting this report to Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources and making it available to the public fulfil one of our obligations under the Nuclear Fuel Waste Act (2002).
The NWMO is committed to meeting or exceeding all applicable regulatory standards and requirements for protecting the health, safety and security of people and the environment. The project we are implementing is regulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, which administers its licensing system in co-operation with other federal, provincial and municipal government departments and agencies in areas such as public and worker health and safety, environmental protection and transportation. To learn more about how our work is regulated, visit our Regulatory oversight web page.
Each year, the NWMO publishes a report that provides an update on the amount of used nuclear fuel in Canada and projections for future amounts from existing and announced projects. As the organization responsible for implementing Canada’s plan for used nuclear fuel, we will also be responsible for managing used fuel from new nuclear technologies, such as small modular reactors (SMRs).
In 2022, for the first time, our Nuclear Fuel Waste Projections report was updated to include projections for two SMR projects that are in the licensing process in Canada. We are confident that we can accommodate the long-term management of both this different type of used fuel and this small increase in volume.
To further demonstrate our ability to continually adapt and help improve accessibility, we have developed the first digital triennial report this year. We encourage you to keep exploring this digital triennial report, which includes videos, animations, a search function and more.
Adaptive Phased Management
Canada’s plan, known as Adaptive Phased Management (APM), involves a technical plan and a phased and flexible implementation strategy. It is both a technical method (what we plan to build) and a management approach (how we will work with people to get it done). The technical method involves developing a deep geological repository in a suitable rock formation to safely contain and isolate used nuclear fuel. The management approach involves phased and adaptive decision-making, supported by public engagement and continuous learning.
Initially, 22 communities expressed interest in learning more and exploring their potential to host the project. Through progressive technical studies and engagement efforts designed to help interested communities learn more about the project and express their perspective on it, that list was gradually narrowed down. Since early 2020, we have been focused on two potential siting areas: the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation (WLON)-Ignace area and the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON)-South Bruce area, both in Ontario. The WLON-Ignace area and the SON-South Bruce area have both been deeply involved since 2010 and 2012 respectively.
Canada’s plan will only proceed in an area with informed and willing hosts. Working together with the communities in potential siting areas, we continue to explore the potential for partnership, provide support for the processes they will use to evaluate and express willingness, and discuss how the project could be implemented in a way that enhances community well-being.
Canada’s plan is adaptive by design. This aspect became especially important during the three years covered by this report. As the pandemic continued to evolve, we found ways to further adapt our work – from how we engage with communities and provide Reconciliation training to our staff, through to how we conduct technical work at our Discovery and Demonstration Centre in Oakville, Ont. We are proud to have maintained momentum in delivering on our mandate.
We are now approaching a significant milestone – we expect to select a site by 2024. The work we are conducting today is laying the foundation for a transition to a new series of activities. Once a preferred site is selected, we will initiate the regulatory decision-making process, construct a Centre of Expertise and begin to transition our operations to the site.
The next phase of our work is fast-approaching, and we will be ready. This project is important for the potential siting areas, for the environment, for industry, and most of all, for protecting Canadians and Indigenous peoples for generations to come.
Informing and guiding our work
Values
Six fundamental values guide our work.
SAFETY
We place all aspects of public and employee safety – including environmental, conventional, nuclear and radiological safety – first and foremost in everything we do.
INTEGRITY
We act with openness, honesty and respect.
EXCELLENCE
We use the best knowledge, understanding and innovative thinking, and seek continuous improvement in all that we do in our pursuit of excellence.
COLLABORATION
We engage in a manner that is inclusive and responsive, and that supports trust, constructive dialogue and meaningful partnership.
ACCOUNTABILITY
We take responsibility for our actions, including wise, prudent and efficient management of resources.
TRANSPARENCY
We communicate openly and responsibly, providing information about our approach, processes and decision-making.
An Ethical and Social Framework
We are guided by an Ethical and Social Framework that was first published in 2004. It was developed with the involvement of leading Canadian ethicists and Indigenous thought leaders during the study phase of our work. We continue to build on this framework as the project moves forward.
The Ethical and Social Framework incorporates the following principles:
- Respect for life in all its forms, including minimization of harm to human beings and other sentient creatures;
- Respect for future generations of human beings, other species, and the biosphere as a whole;
- Respect for peoples and cultures;
- Justice across groups, regions and generations;
- Fairness to everyone affected, particularly minorities and marginalized groups; and
- Sensitivity to the differences in values and interpretation that different individuals and groups bring to the dialogue.
The deep geological repository
This diagram shows a conceptual layout for the surface facilities, as well as an approximate area of 1,500 acres (600 hectares) for the underground services area and placement rooms in the deep geological repository, at the proposed site with crystalline rock. This design will continue to evolve as the project progresses and will adapt to changes in technology and future decisions about nuclear power generation that may change the volume or type of fuel to be managed.
The deep geological repository uses a multiple-barrier system designed to safely contain and isolate used nuclear fuel over the very long term. Constructed more than 500 metres below ground, the repository will consist of a network of placement rooms that will store the used nuclear fuel.
At the surface, there will be facilities where the used fuel is received, inspected and repackaged into purpose-built containers encased in a bentonite clay buffer box, before being transferred to the main shaft for underground placement. There will also be facilities for administration, security, processing of sealing materials, quality control, and ongoing operation and monitoring of the site.
The repository will include a centralized services area that will allow for underground ventilation through three shafts located within a single, secure area. The layout also includes multiple access tunnel arms that will let our technical specialists situate the placement rooms in areas with the most suitable rock. The buffer boxes will be arranged in the horizontal placement rooms, and any spaces left over will be backfilled with bentonite clay pellets or chips.
To prepare for the regulatory decision-making process and construction, the NWMO has begun work on site-specific conceptual designs of the repository layout based on information from geoscience assessments and initial borehole drilling in the potential siting areas. This is an iterative process – as the NWMO develops additional site-specific information, we will continue to evolve the design of the repository. The proposed site in the WLON-Ignace area would be located in crystalline rock, and in the SON-South Bruce area, it would be in sedimentary rock. After site selection, additional site characterization work will begin to further inform the design.
Rigorous safety standards govern the project. We have committed to meet or exceed all applicable federal and provincial regulatory requirements to protect the health, safety and security of people and the environment for generations to come.
The multiple-barrier system
The NWMO’s prototype container for used nuclear fuel is unloaded from a machine where a copper coating was applied at the National Research Council’s Boucherville facility in Québec.
A series of engineered and natural barriers will work together to safely contain and isolate used nuclear fuel within the repository. Each barrier will provide a unique and stand-alone level of protection, while serving as a backstop to the last barrier. If any of these barriers were to fail, another would be there to ensure any dangerous materials remain contained or isolated.
This diagram shows the multiple-barrier system that will contain and isolate the used nuclear fuel.
1 The first barrier is the fuel pellet. Fuel pellets are a very stable, solid ceramic, made from highly durable baked uranium dioxide powder. They are stored end-to-end in long tubes made of a strong, corrosion-resistant metal.
2 The second barrier is the fuel bundle, made from a highly corrosion-resistant material called Zircaloy, which contains a number of these tubes.
3 The third barrier is a copper-coated steel container. These containers are engineered to resist corrosion and are strong enough to keep the used nuclear fuel completely contained until its radioactivity decreases to safe levels. They are designed to survive underneath 3,000 metres of snow, ice and meltwater, 800 metres of rock and dirt, groundwater, and surrounding clay pressure.
4 The fourth barrier is a buffer box made of highly compacted bentonite clay that encases each container. Bentonite clay is a natural material proven to be a powerful barrier to water flow. It is very stable, as observed in natural formations that are hundreds of millions of years old. It also naturally prevents microbial growth, which will help maintain the integrity of the container over a long time.
5 The fifth barrier is the rock itself, which will protect the repository from disruptive natural events, water flow and human intrusion.
Our timelines
Although the pandemic has impacted our work, we have remained focused and productive. While some initiatives had to be paused temporarily, we were able to bring forward others by several months. Still, it was necessary to adjust some of the planned timelines to fully address all the work associated with the regulatory decision-making process. This included delaying our timeline for site selection from 2023 to the fall of 2024, due to the loss of time for the face-to-face engagement that is so critical to our consent-based siting process.
By strategically adapting our work plans over the course of the past three years, we have remained on track to meet our timeline to begin construction of the repository in 2033. Site selection will mark the next major milestone in Canada’s plan, as the decision will bring to an end the siting process we initiated in 2010. We are committed to moving forward with Canada’s plan. The following graphic provides a snapshot of historic milestones for the project and estimated timelines for future key steps in the process.