Feature Part 4: What lies ahead for Canada’s deep geological repository?

What lies ahead for the deep geological repository? It was recently announced that the final decision would be made in March 2016 but even if the Liberal Party gives approval, there will still be much planning and agreements to make before construction can begin. Neal Kelly gave further information on what the next steps for the deep geological repository would be.

Support for the DGR…	Opposition to the DGR…
·         Believes a deep geological repository would be the safest and most practical way to store nuclear waste.	·         Believes the risk of a nuclear leak is too high to consider building the DGR so close to Lake Huron
·         Has carried out a long and extensive environmental assessment which has been examined and peer-reviewed	·         Has obtained the support from several key figures, including a congressman who represents in Washington DC
·         Is aiming to expand and improve operations in disposing of nuclear waste by storing it underground.	·         Is focused on protecting the great lakes, and the recreation, food and water they provide to local communities.

What do you think about the deep geological repository? Should it be built or not built? Or are you undecided? Cast your thoughts in the comments below and via the poll on Twitter.

Should the deep geological repository be built, or is the environmental risk too great? @opg @stopthenukedump

— NDLH (@NDLHMMP) December 17, 2015

 

Blog: Facts and figures on the Bruce Nuclear Generation Station

Fact File

Located: Near Kincardine and the Bruce County

Size: 2300 Acres

Cost to build: 14.4 billion Canadian dollars

Current operational units: 8

Annual Power Generation: 45,000 Giga-Watt Hours (GWh)

The Bruce Nuclear Generation Station was originally constructed and commissioned by Ontario Hydro over the course of nine years from 1960 to 1969. Beginning with Douglas Point, Canada’s first commercial nuclear reactor, the plant has since grown and expanded with many additional units and expansions.

These colour coded containers are used for storing nuclear waste before it is burned or compacted.

This is one of many radiation sensors which send signals to the site workers if it is tripped

This pipe on the outside of the Western Waste Facility is part of the incineration process

These older structure were used to hold nuclear waste before the migration to the metal capped units

The Bruce Nuclear site has also been a constant source of both power and employment to the surrounding settlements of Lake Huron, providing over 4000 jobs both on and off site. According to their website, it is currently providing 36.1% of power for the province of Ontario, as well as injecting billions into the nation’s economy.

Several companies play a role in the operation of the Bruce Nuclear Site. Ontario Power Generation (OPG) took over operations from Ontario Hydro in 1999. The OPG itself is a Crown Corporation, entirely owned by the government of Ontario. Regulation of the plant is handled by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization which was formed in 2002.

The nuclear station is currently the biggest power plant of its kind in the world as well as the biggest employer in the Bruce County. The OPG’s current operating license for the site will run until May 2020, with a further energy plan alongside refurbishments and updates to the facilities planned in the years to follow.

Feature Part 3: Opposition to the deep geological repository plan

As the plan for the DGR became more widely recognized, several sources of opposition have built up to its construction. The two main parties who have spoken their disapproval have been the Saugeen First Nation aboriginals, and the Stop the great lake nuclear dump.

Despite the potential of nuclear power for providing clean energy, much skepticism still exists surrounding its use. The catastrophic disasters of Chernobyl in April 1986 and most recently the Fukushima Daiichi accident in March 2011 have raised many concerns over the impact and after effects of any accident that may occur. The Chernobyl disaster in particular caused massive long-term impacts such as the development of cancers.

The opposition that exists to the OPG’s plans is mostly centered on damage to Lake Huron and surrounding areas if the nuclear waste was to leak into the nearby environment. Crops, food and drinking water for 40 million people would be contaminated, the lake would become unsafe to use and the health of local citizens would be drastically affected. The parties involved believe that protecting the great lakes should be held at a higher priority.

Chief Vernon Roote of the Saugeen First Nation spoke to me regarding his people’s opposition to the planned DGR.

The “Stop the great lakes nuclear dump” movement has been very progressive in its efforts to propose an alternate resolution to the DGR. Over the past three years since its formation, it has obtained the support of several key figures including Senator Phil Pavlov of the Michigan State Senate. I reached out to the movement founder Beverly Fernandez for comment, but she was unavailable at the time of producing this multimedia project. Arguing that there is no guarantee that a nuclear leak will never occur, the movement and its supporters support this by stating that no computer model or environmental investigation can ever predict what will happen over 100,000 years when some nuclear waste materials will still be undergoing decay.

“It is our duty to protect them for current and future generations. Our lives and our livelihoods depend upon the great lakes” Congressman Dan Killdee of Michigan

STGLND believes, to quote from their website “the protection of our Great Lakes from buried radioactive nuclear waste is responsible stewardship, and is of national and international importance”. They also argue that there has been an almost complete lack of awareness among both Canadian and American citizens of the OPG’s plan. Their goal is to raise recognition, earning further support to be forwarded to the Canadian government.

The final part of this feature will summarize the reasons for support and opposition to the project, as well as offer a poll to cast your opinion on the DGR.

(DGR Site image sourced from http://stopthegreatlakesnucleardump.com/nuclearwastedump.php)

Blog: Who are the Saugeen First Nation aboriginals?

The Saugeen First Nation is part of a large group of indigenous people living in modern day Canada. They reside along the Saugeen River and Bruce Peninsula, which are north of Kincardine and relatively close to the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station.

Along with 633 other recognized First Nation governments, they can trace their history back to 1,000 BC when the First Nations had originally settled and built trade routes across the country. In around 1,000 AD, the people of these nations came into contact with European explorers who would eventually discover the great lakes mentioned previously. Some conflict did exist between the two, but when compared to the more violent battles that took place between Native Americans and Colonists, the First Nations were able to better preserve their own identities despite having Europeans settle near them.

Formed in the 1970s and consisting of around 2000 people, the Saugeen First Nation is the main successor of the Chippewas of Saugeen Ojibway Territory or “SON”. They foster a religion that forms a bond with nature and the environment around them, as well as other culture such as traditional dancing and clothing.

In modern times the SFN has formed a strong sense of community, as well as a link to Canada’s government thanks to the Aboriginal Professional Association of Canada. Chief Vernon Roote is the current leader of the Saugeen First Nation, who have been in talks with Ontario Power Generation in recent years about the proposed deep nuclear repository.

(Images sourced from http://www.saugeenfirstnation.ca/gallery_album.php?category=18)

Feature Part 2: Supporting parties for Canada’s nuclear disposal

Considering that the top priority around nuclear power is safety, the parties who support the deep geological repository base their arguments around this focus, as well as the scientific research they have carried out over many years. I reached out to Neal Kelly of Ontario Power Generation to obtain further insight on the planning process for the DGR.

Waste containers are carefully transported by site vehicles

The intermiediete waste such as silicon chips from reactors is currently stored is these containers

The Western Waste Facility is where incineration and compacting takes place.

All employees and visitors must pass through these radiation scanners twice. Once to go in, and again to come out

These containers have been used to transport nuclear waste to the site.

Waste transport containers use short codes to identify waste type and quantity.

Waste management at the Bruce Nuclear Site is currently handled through incineration, compacting or storage. The first two of these are carried out to lower the overall volume of nuclear waste with very high environmental controls reaching 800 and later 1000 degrees Celsius. This process has been a common fixture of the nuclear site for many years, with waste being transported to the site using specific containers like the ones in the images above. Neal Kelly also said that if the DGR was not approved, then the Bruce Site would continue to store nuclear waste on the surface as they are currently doing whilst maintaining their processes of incinerating and compacting.

“We have been going through a process, the environmental assessment process, we’re reaching the end of it. We anticipate that we will hear a decision from the federal government shortly” Neal Kelly

Some of the more closely examined rocks are kept on display for organisations who are invited to the station

Each set of rocks is sorted by date of collection and run number

An entire room is dedicated to storing the large collection of rocks

These rocks from Cobourg form the “Canadian Shield”

Another major aspect of the project has been the collection and study of several types of rock which stretch back millions of years. The most prominent of these are the rocks taken from the settlement of Cobourg, part of the “Canadian Shield”. Dating back to the Cambrian period around 540 million years ago, these formations surround Lake Huron and are stronger than concrete. This information and study of the shield led the OPG to conclude that they are the most suitable and safe location to bury the low and intermediate waste.

The Municipality of Kincardine is the host for the deep geological repository and in the years since they first approached Ontario Power Generation, they have pursued the project for the interest in a safer method of storing nuclear waste underground, rather than using containers on the surface which may be susceptible to storms and violent weather. I spoke with Kincardine’s mayor to find out more about their contributions to the project and its safety precautions.

Mayor Eadie went on to say that FM alerts, as well as KI pills (potassium iodide) have been supplied and distributed to nearby communities within a ten kilometer zone if there ever was an accident at the Bruce Station. These pills are used to protect the body’s internal organs by preventing radiation from being absorbed. There are also further safety measures applied across a fifty kilometer radius which extend into other settlements such as Bruce and Huron Counties.

The third part of this feature will look at the opposition to the DGR, most notably the Canadian aboriginals of the Saugeen First Nation.

Blog: A history of the Municipality of Kincardine

Kincardine’s history begins back in 1848 when the first county settlers arrived on the ship called “The Fly”. After the initial construction of a hotel by Allan Cameron, as well as a dam and sawmill by his brother-in-law William Withers, the small village began to grow into a larger town. It was eventually incorporated into Canada in 1858.

What citizens now know as the Municipality of Kincardine comprises several areas including the town of Kincardine, Township of Kincardine and the Township of Bruce. Originally known as Penetangore, it was formed in 1999 by the three main parties and named after Governor General James Bruce (Pictured above), a British colonial ambassador and diplomat who also served as the Governor General of the province of Canada as a whole from 1847 to 1854.

Kincardine Pier. The town becomes quite bustling in the summer

One of the longest standing traditions of the town’s Scottish Heritage

The municipal administration centre where the town is managed

With a population of 11,174 according to the Canada 2011 census, the town has a very closely-knit community along with a deep rooting in Scottish heritage. One of the largest personifications of this is the Kincardine Scottish Pipe Band, which has been a constant fixture of the town since 1908.

A municipality is an area with powers of self-government and personal jurisdiction. The current mayor of the municipality is Anne Eadie who was elected in 2014; she runs the municipality with eight other council members from the Municipality Administration Centre. As the host municipality for the deep geological repository, Kincardine has had several dealings with the Bruce Nuclear Site, which provides a large amount of jobs to the region.

Feature Part 1: An introduction to Canada’s nuclear disposal debate

For over forty years, the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station, based near the shores of Lake Huron has provided clean energy to Ontario, but the production also results in bi-products; low, intermediate and high nuclear waste. Finding methods to both store and dispose of this waste is a challenge that all nuclear stations have dealt with over the years. The newest plan in this operation from Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Bruce Power is a deep geological repository or DGR for short.

What is a Deep Geological Repository? The project is an underground facility constructed by drilling deep into the Earth into specific natural rock formations. Inside these rocks, low and intermediate waste is deposited in order for it to undergo a gradual decay, a reduction of radioactivity. Depending on the type of waste, it can take an extended period of time, sometimes thousands of years for an item to become fully purged of radiation.

OPG has collaborated with the Municipality of Kincardine on the project, who benefits from both the energy for homes and the jobs created. In 2001, they went to the OPG to discuss the possibility of building the DGR for the disposal of nuclear waste. In the years following, Ontario Power Generation conducted research into safety, environmental impact, rock formations and other case studies in deep geological repositories.

In recent years however, some resistance has emerged to the project from two main parties. Formed in 2012 by local citizen Beverly Fernandez, “Stop the great lakes nuclear dump” poses the question “Would you bury poison beside your well?” and argue there is no guarantee that the nuclear waste will never leak into the nearby Lake Huron. Similarly the Saugeen First Nation, a group of aboriginal people are not in approval because any accident at the facility would damage their traditional lands.

Follow this link for a timeline of events surrounding the deep geological repository: //cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1HkS7ox6tTsfDuElTMbyvAKhAEcBRePdwXIh6Z2JwjOY&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&height=650

In the next part of this main feature, the support for the project by the OPG and Kincardine will be examined more closely.

Blog: Information on the Great Lake Huron

Fact File

• Surface Area: 23,000 square miles
• Depth: 229 meters
• Shoreline length: 3,827 metres
• Number of islands: 30,000
• Water Volume: 850 Cubic metres

 

Divided between the state of Michigan in the United States and Ontario in Canada, Lake Huron is the second largest of the five great lakes, and the fifth largest lake in the world. The lake, along with the others in the chain of lakes were formed and expanded by the melting of the ice glaciers at the end of the last glacial period which occurred in the last 100,000 years of the Pleistocene period.

Huron was the first lake to be discovered by European explorers in the 1600s and takes its name from the indigenous Wyandot Indians, or “Hurons” who lived close by. This group along with the Saugeen First Nation and other aboriginal communities still hold traditional lands near the lake today.

In addition to the indigenous communities, many settlements and municipalities have also thrived on the shores of the lake. Some of these include Sarnia, Kincardine, the Saugeen Shores and Southampton in Canada, as well as Port Huron, Port Austin and Lexington in the United States. For these communities, Lake Huron serves a strong source of recreation from simple fishing and camping to water sports such as swimming and canoeing. The Bruce Nuclear Generating Station, the largest nuclear site in the world has also been based next to the lake since it was constructed in the 1970s.

(Images sourced from Google Images. All labelled for reuse)