Skip to main content

Radioactive waste site in Chalk River a go

Brick buyildings and smoke stacks of the Chalk River nuclear laboratory are visible from the river on a bright, sunny day
The Chalk River nuclear laboratory is visible from the Ottawa River, 180 kilometres from the nation's capital. Photo by Natasha Bulowski

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has greenlit a proposed nuclear waste storage facility in Chalk River, Ont., after a years-long battle waged by concerned citizens, environmentalists and First Nations.

On Jan. 9, the commission announced Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ operating licence will be changed to allow construction of a “near-surface disposal facility” to hold up to a million tonnes of radioactive and hazardous waste. Stored in a large mound, the waste would sit about a kilometre from the Ottawa River, a culturally important river for Algonquins, and this proximity to drinking water for millions is one of many factors that raised alarm bells for opponents.

The proposed facility, referred to as the NSDF, “is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects” as long as Canadian Nuclear Laboratories sticks to its proposed mitigation and monitoring measures, the commission said in its decision.

Within hours of the announcement, Kebaowek First Nation put out a press release calling on the federal government to intervene and stop the project. Organizations representing 10 of the 11 Algonquin First Nations have opposed the project, alongside leaders and elders from those nations. Pikwakanagan First Nation, the only Ontario-based Algonquin Nation and closest to Chalk River, signed a long-term relationship agreement with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories on June 9, 2023.

The commission concluded “the design of the NSDF project is robust, supported by a strong safety case, able to meet its required design life, and sufficient to withstand severe weather events, seismic activity, and the effects of climate change.”

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories' proposal for an above ground facility to store radioactive waste will go ahead after First Nations and concerned citizens fought the project for years. The CNSC's decision was published Jan. 9 #ChalkRiver #NSDF

Throughout the project review and regulatory hearings, which first began in 2016, the commission said it “gave careful consideration to all submissions and perspectives received” and fulfilled its constitutional responsibility to “consult and, where appropriate, accommodate Indigenous rights.”

Kebaowek First Nation Chief Lance Haymond called the commission's decision “unacceptable” because it goes against the rights of Indigenous Peoples and environmental protection in a press release issued a few hours after the decision.

"I want to be very clear: the Algonquin Peoples did not consent to the construction of this radioactive waste dump on our unceded territory,” Haymond said. “We believe the consultation was inadequate, to say the least, and that our Indigenous rights are threatened by this proposal.”

Algonquin leaders from Kebaowek and Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nations and Algonquins of Barriere Lake have long opposed the NSDF and have urged the commission to heed their concerns about environmental and human health. At the final licensing hearing in August, Kebaowek and Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg argued the consultation was inadequate because it began far too late in the decision-making process and did not appear to take their concerns or traditional knowledge seriously.

Ninety per cent of the waste is from Chalk River Laboratories, owned by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, a private subsidiary of the Crown corporation Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL). Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is owned primarily by AtkinsRéalis, formerly known as SNC-Lavalin. The facility is designed to hold low-level waste — for example, contaminated equipment, such as protective shoe covers, clothing, rags and equipment.

A Chalk River Laboratories employee leads a tour of the area where the NSDF will be built. The tour took place during a Chalk River Laboratories open house on Aug. 6, 2022, where community members could come and see the many facilities, learn about the work done there and waste disposal practices and ask questions about the proposed NSDF. Photo by Natasha Bulowski

James Walker, a nuclear waste expert and former director of safety engineering and licensing at AECL, disputed the proclamation that all waste will be low-level in a submission to the commission. His calculations, based on the inventory of waste provided by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, show that much of it is intermediate-level radioactive waste and should not be placed in a near-surface facility. There is also no inventory management system to properly verify the waste complies with the acceptance criteria, he wrote. Walker said the project is “non-compliant with International Safety Standards” for these reasons.

Chalk River is a village roughly 180 kilometres northwest of Ottawa. Chalk River Laboratories used to be a major producer of medical isotopes used for cancer diagnostic procedures and is a major employer in the region.

Last month, concerned citizen Ole Hendrickson initiated a House of Commons petition (authorized by Pontiac, Que. MP Sophie Chatel) calling for an international review of three radioactive waste projects including the NSDF at Chalk River. At the time of writing, it has almost 2,950 signatures. Petitions require a minimum of 500 signatures to be presented in the House of Commons and receive an official response from the government.

With files from Matteo Cimellaro

Natasha Bulowski / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada’s National Observer

Comments