Concerns on Ottawa’s Proposed Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF), from IPPNWC Board Members
The near surface disposal facility (NSDF) would be located on a ridge, situated just one kilometer from the Ottawa River (City of Ottawa).
Like the “forever chemicals”, per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances polluting our environment and found in humans, radioactive isotopes from both nuclear power and nuclear weapons pollute us all. Fortunately, the level of radioactive materials existing in our bodies is currently low since nuclear waste has mostly been kept out of the biosphere. However, this could all change if the plan to store radioactive waste in an above ground setting one km from the Ottawa River materializes. Named the Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF), this 7 story high engineered dump is planned to hold up to a million tons of radioactive waste representing eight decades of operation of the Chalk River Laboratories with the addition of radioactive waste from medical facilities. We may as well call the future contents of the NSDF “forever isotopes” as many of these elements will remain radioactive for millennia.
No dump lasts “forever” and in the case of the NSDF on the Ottawa River, it will eventually leak into the drinking water of millions of people downstream. First Nations groups, local citizen groups, MPs and municipalities have expressed concern and asked for delays in building the NSDF.
The International Atomic Energy Agency identifies some of the elements to be stored as “intermediate level waste”, instead of “low level waste” for which the NSDF was designed. This questions the decision of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) to license this proposal and adds concerns that the CNSC is heavily influenced by the nuclear industry.
To outsiders, CNSC appears to have a vested interest in minimizing the risks associated with nuclear waste and seems to be expediting its efforts to resolve this extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible, challenge to manage radioactive waste safely. Unfortunately, recent decisions to expand nuclear power into newer types of reactors only exacerbates this unresolved problem of radioactive waste management.
Alternatives to the NSDF are being discussed which include retrievability, no abandonment and continuous guardianship. We add our voices to those already asking that the Government of Canada delay the NSDF proposal, until a careful and independent review is done with health concerns top priority.
Regards,
John Guilfoyle, MD, CCFP, FCFP, Former Chief Medical Officer of Health for Manitoba
Nancy Covington, BSc Physics, MD
You can also find this letter published by The Hill Times: