Author of the article: Heather Rivers
Publishing date: Aug 29, 2021 •
Western University stainless steel corrosion expert Samantha Gateman will be lending her knowledge to the effort to find a place to store used nuclear fuel bundles. (Supplied photo)
A Western University corrosion expert will lend her expertise in the quest to find a safe way to store Canada’s nuclear waste.
Corrosion scientist Samantha Gateman will begin her tenure as the new chair in radiation-induced chemistry at Western in the new year. Her research will be funded by a $1.1-million grant from the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, bolstering Western’s team of chemistry, physics and engineering researchers assisting with the effort.
With a specialty in how stainless steel corrodes over time and how to stop it, Gateman said her expertise in thermal coatings will assist NWMO in a plan for Canada’s three million used radioactive fuel bundles.
About 60 per cent of Ontario’s electricity is produced at three nuclear power plants. Used fuel bundles are kept for 10 years in deep pools before they are sealed in containers for temporary storage.
“The reason my expertise is important for the NWMO is they are using a very similar type of coating technology to stop the corrosion of containers that they are putting the nuclear fuel waste inside,” Gateman said. “I will be working with the best experts in the world and using my own expertise to investigate this research.”
NWMO’s long-term plan is to contain the bundles in copper-coated containers in bentonite clay in a deep geological area. The organization has two potential sites: in crystalline rock in the township of Ignace in northwestern Ontario or sedimentary rock in the municipality of South Bruce, near Owen Sound.
A decision on the location for the depository is expected by 2023.
The depository will be built 500 metres underground with multiple barriers including coated steel containers encrusted with clay, during the thousands of years it will take to reduce their radioactivity.
Laurie Swami, president of the NWMO, says the organization has invested millions into Western’s anti-corrosion research and other projects in chemistry, engineering, physics and earth sciences over the past 20 years.
“It’s important to have a robust understanding of the underground conditions, including corrosion conditions that would exist in a deep geological repository,” Swami said.
HRivers@postmedia.com
A Western University corrosion expert will lend her expertise in the quest to find a safe way to store Canada’s nuclear waste.
Corrosion scientist Samantha Gateman will begin her tenure as the new chair in radiation-induced chemistry at Western in the new year. Her research will be funded by a $1.1-million grant from the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, bolstering Western’s team of chemistry, physics and engineering researchers assisting with the effort.
With a specialty in how stainless steel corrodes over time and how to stop it, Gateman said her expertise in thermal coatings will assist NWMO in a plan for Canada’s three million used radioactive fuel bundles.
About 60 per cent of Ontario’s electricity is produced at three nuclear power plants. Used fuel bundles are kept for 10 years in deep pools before they are sealed in containers for temporary storage.
“The reason my expertise is important for the NWMO is they are using a very similar type of coating technology to stop the corrosion of containers that they are putting the nuclear fuel waste inside,” Gateman said. “I will be working with the best experts in the world and using my own expertise to investigate this research.”
NWMO’s long-term plan is to contain the bundles in copper-coated containers in bentonite clay in a deep geological area. The organization has two potential sites: in crystalline rock in the township of Ignace in northwestern Ontario or sedimentary rock in the municipality of South Bruce, near Owen Sound.
A decision on the location for the depository is expected by 2023.
The depository will be built 500 metres underground with multiple barriers including coated steel containers encrusted with clay, during the thousands of years it will take to reduce their radioactivity.
Laurie Swami, president of the NWMO, says the organization has invested millions into Western’s anti-corrosion research and other projects in chemistry, engineering, physics and earth sciences over the past 20 years.
“It’s important to have a robust understanding of the underground conditions, including corrosion conditions that would exist in a deep geological repository,” Swami said.
HRivers@postmedia.com
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