Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) on Friday said it had begun collecting core samples from one potential deep geologic repository site in Ontario for spent fuel from the nation’s nuclear reactors.
Drilling is underway in a rock formation roughly 22 miles west of the township of Ignace, according to an NWMO announcement. This is one component of a broader assessment of the geology of the locations being considered to house the underground storage site. Evaluations are also being conducted near six other jurisdictions in Ontario.
Drilling and testing of core samples are anticipated to last no less than three months, NWMO said. That would be followed by roughly one year of study of the data by geoscience, environmental, engineering, and repository safety experts.
The NWMO expects by 2023 to pick the location to build the repository 500 meters underground to store up to 5.4 million spent fuel bundles from over 50 years and counting of nuclear power operations in Canada. The facility is due to become operational at some point from 2040 to 2045.
Requirements for the chosen site will include a “suitable rock formation” and consent from local residents, NWMO said: “The project will only move forward in partnership with First Nation and Métis peoples and surrounding communities. The NWMO continues to move forward collaboratively with all communities and regions as the site section process moves into 2018 and beyond.”
