UPDATES ON IN SITU DECOMMISSIONING OF WR-1
PUBLIC MEETING JULY 30, 2024
AECL, CNL, and CNSC were at the public meeting held on July 30, 2024, at 6:30 pm in the Community Centre. They participated by making presentations on the roles and responsibilities of each organization in this project. Please click on the links to view these presentations.
An audio recording of the meeting is HERE (Click the link > Scroll to 30 July 2024 - Whiteshell Laboratories Public Meeting > Click the audio symbol)
QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER: JULY 10, 2024
As we have reported in several previous quarterly newsletters, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) is proposing In Situ Decommissioning (ISD) of the WR-1 reactor at the Whiteshell Laboratories site. The WR-1 was a research reactor that operated from 1965-1985. It was defueled decades ago and the used fuel is currently stored in concrete canisters in the Waste Management Area. The used fuel will be transported to the Chalk River Laboratories site some time over the next few years. CNL have cleaned up as much radioactive material as possible from the reactor core and building. However, there remains some Intermediate level radioactivity which is mostly contained in the metal components of the reactor. CNL is proposing to entomb the 5-story underground portion of the reactor building in grout (a mixture of water, concrete, and sand), a process referred to as In Situ Decommissioning. This would make the entombed reactor a permanent disposal facility.
CNL and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) have held various Public Engagement activities in the past on this topic. Currently, the forecast dates for the CNSC Public Hearing are in 2025. Council has been working on gathering more information on the project. We have asked the CNSC to send personnel out to meet with us on the project. During the same visit, Council is scheduling a public meeting on July 30, 2024, at 6:30 pm in the Community Centre. AECL, CNL, and CNSC will be participating by making presentations on the roles and responsibilities of each organization in this project. CNL will, of course, provide more details on the ISD project than we have provided above.