Hub Staff
Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) Western Waste Management Facility (WWMF) has stored low-level and intermediate-level nuclear waste since 1974. OPG owns 18 nuclear reactors, eight of which are leased to Bruce Power. In 2002, OPG expanded to provide a used fuel dry storage facility for the Bruce Power reactors. Senior Manager, Corporate Relations, Fred Kuntz, and Manager, Radioactive Material Transport and Refurbishment Interface, Dave Van Ooteghem, delivered an update to the Saugeen Shores Mayor and Council March 9 in Council Chambers.
Van Ooteghem acknowledged the eight year run without a lost-time accident at the WWMF and indicated waste minimization as their primary focus for 2020.
“We’re in the process of sorting our waste, our legacy waste that we currently have and any new waste coming in, very carefully looking for opportunities to recycle some of it that is not contaminated, material that we can perhaps reuse,” said Van Ooteghem. “And getting the waste that we receive into a stream that is more conducive to waste volume reduction, either through incineration, compaction or things of that nature."
Van Ooteghem noted the impact of their incinerator which enables OPG to reduce their waste by up to 90%. OPG continues to invest in maintenance of the incinerator to help ensure a lengthy life and reliable efficiency, said Van Ooteghem.
“We incinerate all sorts of waste. All the radioactivity that is in the waste that is incinerated is stored in the ash and anything, any of the emissions, are scrubbed so nothing but basically warm air comes out of the stack at the end of the process," he explained.
Kuntz recalled the three pillars of Nuclear Waste Management: stewardship, lasting solutions and peace of mind. In terms of lasting solutions, Kuntz referred to the Deep Geological Repository (DGR) and while he claimed it a safe and permanent solution, said he respected the January 31 vote by Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) to reject the DGR and said OPG is moving ahead to search for alternate sites.
“We need to consult key stakeholders to design a site selection process and that includes our regulators, our shareholder industry peers who have expertise in that area and others,” detailed Kuntz. “The range of options will take some time to develop and we will keep local communities, such as Saugeen Shores, informed on progress,” he said.
Kuntz clarified that the SON vote only applied to lower-level waste and opportunities still exist in South Bruce and Ignace, Ontario for a used fuel DGR.
The Senior Manager illustrated some of the new projects for OPG, starting with an Ontario-wide Ivy Charging Network for electric vehicles. Kuntz described these as fast chargers that can charge an electric vehicle in about 30 minutes.
“The first location in Huntsville is already open. A total of 160 chargers will be installed at 73 stations by the end of next year,” announced Kuntz, adding that an Ivy station in Owen Sound is scheduled for the second phase of instalments.
Kuntz also spoke of the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) project to design a 15 Megawatt SMR in Chalk River with Global First Power and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories.
Councillor Myette expressed his excitement over the Ivy charging stations and asked if one could hope to drive across Ontario without the need to return home.
“The idea is very much what you’re talking about. It’s reducing that anxiety that drivers might have about how far to the next station,” stated Kuntz. “Once this first phase is built, the average distance between these charging stations will be less than 100 kilometres,” he said.
Saugeen Shores Mayor Luke Charbonneau commented on potential opportunities on the horizon through the collaboration between Bruce Power and OPG.
“Small nuclear reactors, really nuclear batteries, could power all sorts of things all over the world,” declared Charbonneau.