Nuclear Waste Management Organization begins site selection process for 2nd deep geological repository

Rajpreet Sahota · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 14, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

The Canadian authorities has yet to determine whether it would let recycling spent atomic substance successful the country, as the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) announces it volition beryllium engaging with the nationalist to take a tract for the nation's 2nd heavy geological repository.

The atomic vigor enactment has launched a two-year nationalist engagement process — which volition absorption connected some method information and assemblage willingness — to refine the tract enactment strategy. The ceremonial tract enactment process is expected to statesman astir 2028.

Akira Tokuhiro, a atomic engineering prof astatine Ontario Tech University, said the announcement reflects strategical foresight, but helium said Canada is inactive focused connected imperishable disposal, dissimilar different countries who are pursuing a antithetic attack — reprocessing and reusing spent atomic fuel. 

"One happening that I learned connected my sojourn to the French tract successful 2013, is utilized substance oregon atomic discarded oregon the spent substance has to beryllium reusable oregon retrievable," helium said.

"They person the method means contiguous to reprocess that substance and enactment it backmost successful the reactor and to extract much energy."

Finland is 1 of the archetypal countries to licence a imperishable repository with the enactment of retrieval. France goes further, reprocessing its spent substance to extract much energy, a signifier seldom discussed successful Canada contempt being technically feasible.

"Canada surely has the method capability. It doesn't mean that it has the facilities, but it has the capableness and the know-how and the astute radical to recycle that oregon reuse that spent fuel," said Tokuhiro. 

"Even today, Canada is choosing not to marque that commitment."

While reprocessing is much costly up front, helium said, it's arguably much climate-friendly. But Canada, similar galore nations, has embraced a "once-through" cycle: excavation uranium, usage it once, and store the discarded indefinitely.

The crushed Canada hasn't followed France's lead, Tokuhiro said, comes down to economics.

"That is wide cheaper than it is to recycle. This is the aforesaid occupation arsenic plastic," helium said.

Reprocessing spent atomic substance would inactive make waste

Dave Novog, professor, engineering physics astatine McMaster University, said the existent Canadian exemplary has "proved beauteous attractive" due to the fact that it means Canada does not trust connected anyone other successful the satellite for its substance oregon for reprocessing technology. 

"I deliberation that's been a bully determination truthful acold erstwhile it comes to substance recycling and the benignant of precocious reactors that are needed to bash that," Novog told CBC Thunder Bay. 

"Those reactors, astatine slightest successful my opinion, are successful their infancy and it would beryllium a immense hazard for america to benignant of accidental those reactors volition yet travel and prevention our discarded problem."

Novog said helium likes the government's and the NWMO's approach, noting that "these repositories instrumentality anyplace from 30 to 40 to adjacent 50 years to construct. And truthful by that time, if these precocious reprocessing technologies are charismatic and commercially viable, we tin ever determination successful that direction."

Novog added that by reprocessing spent atomic substance would inactive make immoderate waste. 

"We volition inactive person to woody with and lick a batch of that waste, truthful I deliberation if atomic is truly going to treble oregon triple its capableness similar they talked astir successful the COP agreements,  we're going to beryllium generating much discarded and it's important that we person a solution for it," helium said.

'Canada is readying for the future'

Commissioning a 2nd heavy geological repository is part of an initiative aimed at addressing the semipermanent retention of intermediate- and non-fuel high-level radioactive discarded from instrumentality and components utilized wrong atomic reactors and aesculapian isotope byproducts, arsenic good arsenic discarded from aboriginal atomic reactors. The archetypal repository successful the Township of Ignace volition store utilized atomic substance from utilized reactors.

"There is planetary technological statement that a heavy geological repository is the safest mode to negociate intermediate- and high-level discarded implicit the long-term," said Laurie Swami, president and CEO of the NWMO, emphasizing the request for a imperishable solution. 

"Canada is readying for the future."

Currently, Canada's intermediate- and high-level discarded is stored connected an interim basis, truthful these solutions are not considered suitable for semipermanent containment. The caller repository volition beryllium designed to store discarded heavy underground, successful enactment with planetary practices for managing high-level atomic waste. 

Site enactment for the 2nd repository volition beryllium guided by some method criteria, specified arsenic geological suitability and assemblage support. The NWMO has emphasized that assemblage consent and Indigenous consultation volition beryllium cardinal to the process.

WATCH | Canada's imperishable atomic discarded dump, 'Forever chemicals':

The two-year engagement play volition see nationalist consultations, taste verification studies, and collaboration with Indigenous communities. 

"We recognize that galore communities are getting a batch of requests to prosecute connected large projects. And so, we privation to marque definite that we person the clip to get meaningful input and person a meaningful treatment connected the siting process earlier implementing it," said Joanne Jacyk, manager of tract enactment astatine the NWMO.

For now, the NWMO is encouraging Canadians and Indigenous peoples to larn much oregon instrumentality portion successful the engagement process by visiting the NWMO's website oregon contacting the enactment astatine [email protected].