Clinton News Record, 2015-04-15, Page 3Central Huron at third step in the
process to become a nuclear waste site
Laura Broadley
Clinton News Record
Central Huron is currently
at step three of nine in the
plan to determine whether it
is a suitable site for Canada's
nuclear waste.
The steps are part of a plan
called Adaptive Phased Man-
agement (APM) set out by the
Nuclear Waste Management
Organization (NWMO). The
APM was adopted in June
2007 by the Government of
Canada to select a commu-
nity to host a deep geological
repository for the country's
used nuclear fuel.
Step one started in May
2010 with a campaign by the
NWMO to educate and pro-
mote the idea.
The second step of the
selection consisted of an ini-
tial screening process to
determine whether or not
the interested communities
met basic criteria. The area
must have the right geology
to be a feasible host.
Step three is when inter-
ested communities request a
preliminary assessment by
the NWMO to determine fur-
ther whether it is suitable.
This step has two phases.
Phase one is when the
NWMO, authorities, key
stakeholders and surround-
ing communities engage
with each other and decide
how the next steps will pro-
ceed. Studies are conducted
to determine whether the
surrounding geology can
handle the repository. The
social impacts of hosting will
also be assessed in phase
one. Central Huron is the last
of the remaining interested
communities to still be in
phase one but the NWMO
predicts it will be completed
by the end of the year.
If Central Huron makes it
into the second phase, field
studies will be conducted
that may include airborne
geophysical surveys, field
mapping and the drilling of
boreholes. Among the field
studies, community well-
being assessments, land
rights discussions, Aboriginal
and surrounding community
engagement and a third -
party review of the geology
will be conducted. By the
time phase two is complete it
is estimated only one or two
communities will be left.
"The NWMO hosted an
open house at the Holmes-
ville Community Centre last
week, where officials were
quick to stress that the repos-
itory will not go to a commu-
nity that does not want it."
The NWMO predicts it will
take another 10 years to pick
a site (pending regulatory
approval) and it's not asking
communities to confirm, just
yet, whether it will host.
When one is chosen it will
have to show a compelling
demonstration of willing-
ness as another criteria of
the APM, said Patrick Dolc-
etti, regional communica-
tions manager for NWMO.
That could mean a vote,
interviews and/or presenta-
tions but it is ultimately up to
the community to decide
how to show its willingness.
If Central Huron does
move forward with the
NWMO it will have
to consider the social and
economic impacts of hosting
the repository. According to
Dolcetti, not every commu-
nity is right for this type of
change and thousands of
jobs will be created, drasti-
cally changing the dynamic
of a municipality as small as
Central Huron.
Agreeing to host the repos-
itory with the corresponding
centre of expertise will mean
agreeing to hold approxi-
mately four million fuel bun-
dles. Fuel bundles contain
fuel elements made up of
solid ceramic pellets of com-
pressed uranium dioxide.
Dolcetti said anyone call-
ing the project a "nuclear
waste dump" is being "irre-
sponsible", adding that it's
"not some green ooze out of
The Simpsons"
Fuel bundles are temporar-
ily held in reactors but need a
long-term holding site, which
is where the deep geological
repository comes in.
The repository is designed
to safely store the used
nuclear fuel at a depth of
about 500 metres, according
to the NWMO. As part of the
multiple -barrier system the
fuel bundles will be placed
in fuel containers, which are
then encased in bentonite
clay, an absorbent sub-
stance, and rock. These con-
tainers are created to isolate
nuclear waste for a long time
by preventing the movement
of radiation.
PLEASE
RECYCL
entr Hama
PUBLIC NOTICE
RE: 2015 Municipality of Central Huron Budget
The 2015 Municipality of Central Huron Budget will be
presented for consideration and adoption at the Regular
Meeting of Council, Monday, April 20, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
in the Council Chamber, 23 Albert Street, Clinton, Ontario.
www.centralhuron.com
Brenda Maclsaac, Clerk
Municipality of Central Huron
Things like groundwater,
surface water, air quality and
radiation will be monitored
closely for a previously speci-
fied period of time. Dolcetti
said that bundles will always
remain retrievable in the hope
that future generations will
have developed better ways of
dealing with nuclear waste.
The NWMO's method of
transportation will also be
under scrutiny until the reg-
ulatory authority determines
it is safe to transfer the fuel
bundles from the reactors to
the repository. The used fuel
transport package is an inte-
gral part of the security of
regular shipping and poten-
tial accident conditions.
According to the NWMO,
its method of transportation
undergoes four rigorous
tests to ensure it meets the
regulatory authority's inter-
nationally tested standards
for accident conditions. This
includes a nine metre free -
drop test, a puncture test, a
burn test and immersion
test. It will take about 40
years from the time NWMO
gets regulatory approval to
the transfer of all the fuel
bundles to the repository.
As a function of the
APM the NWMO wants to
hear concerns, questions,
comments and feedback.
The NWMO office is open
on Tuesdays and Wednes-
days from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
and located at 38 Albert
St. in Clinton.
Wednesday, Aprll 15, 2015 • News Record 3
Laura Broadley Clinton News Record
An actual -size fuel bundle. Four million of these could end up in a
nuclear waste site in Central Huron. The fuel bundles would hold
solid ceramic pellets of compressed radioactive uranium dioxide.
A model of what a fuel container would look like. Each fuel
bundle would be packed in a nuclear waste container and then
surrounded by bentonite clay, an absorbent substance, before
being encased in rock.
Huron County
4-H Leaders Association
is hosting an
Electronics Recycling Depot
S Clothing Drive
Saturday, April 18
8 am - 3 pm
Depot at Londesboro Feed Mill
For information about accepted items
contact Darrell Bergsma at 519-441-2103
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