WASTE MANAGEMENT
Types of Waste
Nuclear waste is traditionally classified into four main categories:
Waste Characteristics and Volume
The relative amounts and characteristics of each type of waste produced depends on the type of reactor selected. When mandated, a reactor type had not been chosen for the project and so the EIS considers the relative volumes and characteristics for the different possible reactor types.
ACR-1000 --> Advanced CANDU Reactor 1000 designed by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.
AP1000 --> Advanced Passive 1000 reactor designed by Westinghouse
EPR --> Areva US European Pressurized Reactor
OPG CANDU --> Reactors already in place in Darlington for comparison purposes
Nuclear waste is traditionally classified into four main categories:
- Low Level Radioactive Waste (LLW)
- Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste (ILW)
- Used Fuel
- Conventional Waste
- Low Level Radioactive Waste and Intermediate Radioactive Waste
- Used fuel
- Conventional waste
Waste Characteristics and Volume
The relative amounts and characteristics of each type of waste produced depends on the type of reactor selected. When mandated, a reactor type had not been chosen for the project and so the EIS considers the relative volumes and characteristics for the different possible reactor types.
ACR-1000 --> Advanced CANDU Reactor 1000 designed by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.
AP1000 --> Advanced Passive 1000 reactor designed by Westinghouse
EPR --> Areva US European Pressurized Reactor
OPG CANDU --> Reactors already in place in Darlington for comparison purposes
- Characteristics
- Waste Volumes
- Used Fuel
- The ACR-1000 is expected to produce a lifetime fuel arising of 5 246 tonnes
- The AP1000 is expected to produce a lifetime fuel arisings of 1 400 tonnes
- The EPR is expected to produce a lifetime fuel arisings of 2 712 tonnes.
After approximately 10 years of storage in the irradiated fuel bay, the used fuel would be transferred to a used fuel dry storage building on site. These storage buildings will either be a new independent building built on the site or an expansion of the existing darlington waste management facility. Storage strategies will differ between the two pressurized water systems (AP1000 and EPR) and the ACR-1000 due to differences in the waste characteristics. However, all designs are ultimately extremely large steel-reinforced concrete containers which are sealed. Using these estimates, it is predicted that 16 000 m2 will be needed to build three new used fuel storage buildings (5 300 m2 each). Furthermore, a 2000 m2 used fuel processing building will also need to be built.
Transportation
Transportation of radioactive material in Canada is regulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act (NSCA) and the Packaging and Transport of Nuclear Substance Regulations (PTNSR). All material to be transported is graded, and the necessary packaging and procedures needed correspond to this grade. Therefore, more dangerous waste require more robust packaging. The Nuclear Waste Management Division of OPG is responsible for the transport of waste. OPG has an excellent safety record when it comes to the transport of waste. Over 35 years and 11.5 million kilometres travelled has resulted in 5 road traffic accidents. In all 5 accidents, the waste was contained and no environmental harm was caused.
The environmental assessment does not definitively state how much waste will be transported since no decisions have been made and all waste could be managed on site. However, should the decision be made to transport LLW and ILW off site, it will most likely be shipped to OPG's Western Waste Management Facility and Deep Geologic Repository. Waste is packaged into individual containers and placed on a flat-bed trucks using public roads. Used fuel is never transported off site and will be dealt with on-site.
Transportation of radioactive material in Canada is regulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act (NSCA) and the Packaging and Transport of Nuclear Substance Regulations (PTNSR). All material to be transported is graded, and the necessary packaging and procedures needed correspond to this grade. Therefore, more dangerous waste require more robust packaging. The Nuclear Waste Management Division of OPG is responsible for the transport of waste. OPG has an excellent safety record when it comes to the transport of waste. Over 35 years and 11.5 million kilometres travelled has resulted in 5 road traffic accidents. In all 5 accidents, the waste was contained and no environmental harm was caused.
The environmental assessment does not definitively state how much waste will be transported since no decisions have been made and all waste could be managed on site. However, should the decision be made to transport LLW and ILW off site, it will most likely be shipped to OPG's Western Waste Management Facility and Deep Geologic Repository. Waste is packaged into individual containers and placed on a flat-bed trucks using public roads. Used fuel is never transported off site and will be dealt with on-site.
For more information, please consult the Nuclear Waste Management Technical Support Document for the New Nuclear Darlington Project.