Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is putting the finishing touches on a report to the federal Environment Minister on a possible Deep Geologic Repository (DGR) in the Kincardine area to house low and intermediate nuclear waste.
OPG’s Director of Nuclear Corporate Relations and Communications, Kevin Powers, says their report will be in the hands of federal officials by the end of the year.
Speaking to Kincardine Council (NOV 2) and Bruce County Council (NOV 3) recently, Powers says there is nothing so far to change their minds about the location of the DGR at their Western Waste management facility (WWMF) at the Bruce Power site.
He says if they were to re-locate such a facility elsewhere, it would take ” about 22,000 shipments (of the waste) over a 30-year period.”
Powers says the waste is already in storage at WWMF, there’s a host community for the DGR and they have some of the best science and geology in the world at the current proposed site.
He says they are accepting low and intermediate nuclear waste from other facilities and that’s only 100-meters from the proposed DGR location.
Powers indicated to councillors that their reports will be completed by the end of the year but there will be opportunity for public comment next year.
The proposed DGR would house the waste 680 meters underground.
The waste is currently stored in WWMF buildings above ground.