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Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) Deep Geologic Repository (DGR) is OPG's proposed deep geological repository for the safe storage of low and intermediate level nuclear waste. It would be located adjacent to OPG's Western Waste Management Facility at the Bruce nuclear generating station, in Kincardine, Ontario.
Contents
Overview
The deep geologic repository would store about 200,000 cubic metres of low and intermediate-level waste from OPG-owned or operated nuclear generating stations in Ontario, including the Bruce, Pickering and Darlington nuclear generating stations. Low-level waste consists of materials such as mop heads, rags, paper towels and protective clothing used in nuclear stations during routine operation and maintenance. Intermediate level waste consists primarily of ion-exchange resins and filters used to purify reactor water systems, and used reactor components such as pressure tubes. Much of the waste that would be placed in the DGR is already stored at the WWMF in engineered storage structures.
Used fuel would not be stored in the DGR.
Location
The proposed DGR would be located 680 metres or 2,230 feet below ground, in sedimentary shale and limestone rock formations that have remained stable for more than 450 million years. The site is located about one mile from Lake Huron, the closest is three quarters of a mile.
Process
OPG has been working on a permanent repository since 2001 and spent $130 million for research. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency manages the environmental assessment, and appointed the joint review panel, which endorsed the project in a 450-page report in May 2015. The agency's head, the next environmental minister, will be determined by the outcome of the Canadian federal election, 2015 on October 19, and with it the fate of the project.
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is the consultant to OPG. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is the federal regulator of nuclear facilities, and is responsible for licensing and overseeing the proposed underground repository.
Public reactions
More than 160 cities, counties and states around the Great Lakes passed resolutions opposing the repository; This includes Toronto, Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago. The independence of experts, extent of rock testing and OPG's unwillingness to explore other locations for the DGR has been criticized by citizens organized in a local group. The Saugeen First Nation voiced its opposition in May 2015. As of 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality stated that they did not object to the project.