Canadian nuclear power operator Ontario Power Generation (OPG) said Wednesday it had submitted information to the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change concerning a proposal for a Deep Geologic Repository (DGR) in Kincardine, Ontario, noting that the twice delayed proposal for the target site near Lake Huron remained the company's first choice for the facility.
"Two alternative locations — one in crystalline rock and one in sedimentary rock — were studied," OPG said in a statement, however "studies show that relocating the DGR to an alternate location would result in increased environmental effects and significant incremental costs, with no assurance of increased safety to workers and the public, or protection of the environment."
Updated analysis of the cumulative environmental effects of the project were done, "assuming a used-fuel repository is sited in close proximity to OPG's DGR," the company said, noting that a site for a used fuel facility has yet to be determined by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization. The proposal is for underground storage of low to intermediate level waste, including clothes, tools, and other materials.
Bottom line from the studies: "OPG maintains that DGR is the right answer for its low-and intermediate level waste, and that the current proposed Bruce nuclear site is the right location." The location has been met with stiff local opposition from both sides of the border. But OPG reiterated the message from the independent federal Joint Review Panel that recommended in 2015 that that "now rather than later," was the time to move on such a facility.
The current studies were ordered by the government in February 2016. The two other sites studied were not revealed to avoid an unnecessarily adverse reaction from the public, as the sites are only hypothetical at this point.