NUCLEAR WASTE

CNL seeks support for disposal facility

Pembroke – It is a crucial year for Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) with the pending hearings on the Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF) and President and CEO Joe McBrearty is hoping all municipalities in the county will lend a voice of support for this massive clean-up effort.

“It enhances the protection of the river and the environment,” he told Renfrew County council recently. “The material is already there. It is in our 40-year-old buildings. It is in our soils.”

He was at council not only asking for support, but delivering an update on the facility, including informing council of the innovative cancer therapy studies currently underway there. CNL is at a pivotal point now, dealing not only with waste from seven decades of research and work, but also rehabilitation as it looks forward to continuing research.

“Our primary mission is environmental restoration of legacy stuff that was a result of 70 years of incredible effort at the Chalk River campus, which has benefited the entire world,” he said.

CNL plays an important role in the county with around 2,800 employees, mostly in the Chalk River/Deep River and Pembroke and Petawawa areas. He said the economic impact is spread throughout the county.

The priorities for CNL – outlined in Vision 2030 – are to restore and protect the environment, provide clean energy for today and tomorrow and improve the health of Canadians. This is done through conducting the largest and most complex remediation in Canada, spanning three provinces, as well as supporting the CANDU and LWR industry, and additionally being involved in SMR/vSMR (Small Modular Reactors) demonstration, advanced fuels and materials and hydrogen sciences. He pointed out in the last five years 100 structures on site have been taken down with the land being remediated.

“It reduces risk to our public. It reduces risk to our workforce,” he said. “It reduces risk to our precious environment.”

The current nuclear remediation process is the most complex in Canada, he added.

“It takes awhile because we have to do it in a very painstaking manner to protect our workforce and protect our environment,” he said.

The “heart and soul” of CNL has been isotope production and this continues with work on a new isotope which targets cancer tumours with very little impact on other cells, he said. The Ac-225 radioisotope program is a very exciting development in fighting cancer, he said. The Actinium 225 is attached to a targeting molecule and when the isotope decays, it emits high energy alpha particles. Those particles kill the cancer cell, leaving nearby healthy cells unharmed. He said this is being considered as a potential treatment for a number of cancers, including prostrate, pancreatic and bladder cancer, as well as leukemia.

“If we can save even one life through our research here, that is incredibly important,” he said.

The need for this material is expected to increase by 100 to 300 times in the next 10 years.

“We believe we can be at the forefront of this,” he added, noting this is a project for the next two decades and more.

The vision is for a new facility housing a cyclotron particle accelerator co-located with a pharmaceutical grade isotope processing capability. This will not only save lives in Canada but put Canada in the forefront as a global provider of a rare medical isotope. It will also generate high tech employment opportunities.

Meggan Vickerd, the general manager of waste management, spoke about the NSDF, noting CNL is viewing this as a key element.

“The NSDF is key to improving the state of our waste storage,” she said.

The waste has been onsite for decades and this is dealing with that waste, she stressed.

“The proposed NSDF will protect the public and the environment in every stage of the facility,” she said.

Having this facility demonstrates waste is no longer a problem and clears the way for future research, she added. It also enhances the protection of the Ottawa River, she said.

This year is important in the hearings for the facility. She noted any interventions to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission must be submitted by April 11. As a result, CNL will be reaching out to the municipalities in the county looking for support. The preference is for in-person recommendations.

“We are hoping for positive interventions from all our communities,” she said.

The hearing is scheduled for late May and will be held in Renfrew County.

Municipal Support

Warden Debbie Robinson said it is not only important for the county to speak out in favour of the NSDF, but also municipalities.

“We need more than one voice from the county supporting CNL,” she said. “We need 18 voices. The county and the municipalities.”

The warden said the request for support will go to the Development and Property Committee for a recommendation and come back to council.

Laurentian Hills Mayor Jed Reinwald said he has been involved in the nuclear industry for about 35 years. Recently a lot of work has been done at the local site, he added.

“I see the improvements that have been made there in the last 10 to12 years,” he said.

Mayor Reinwald said he will be in support of the NSDF.

“Our council is very much behind it,” he remarked.

Mayor Michael Donohue of Admaston/Bromley said the role of nuclear remains very important.

“I cannot see there is any path addressing climate change moving forward without nuclear energy being a part of that,” he said.

The fact most of the material being disposed of at the NSDF is already on site at Chalk River is not widely known and should be, he said.

“By in large the waste is generally what has been generated on site,” he said.

If this waste is not entombed then it will have to be moved off site through the highway elsewhere, he noted.

Renfrew Reeve Peter Emon pointed out when the Go-Co (Government Owned Contractor Operated) model was first presented to the County of Renfrew a decade ago there was much unknown and there was a desire for more information on how this would work and the impact locally.

“Our asks at the time were engagement and information, which we are getting,” he said.

The importance of CNL (AECL at the time) and the need for a future vision for the facility were key to a desire to see the site flourish, he said. Since then, CNL has kept the county informed and there has been a lot of engagement locally, he said.

“We know we have to give back to Canadian taxpayers,” Mr. McBrearty noted.

Debbi Christinck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eganville Leader