The Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF) is a “step in the right direction” towards the cleanup of the Chalk River Laboratories and protection of the Ottawa River.
That was the message Monday as the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission began five days of public hearings on the project in Pembroke.
Following presentations by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, CNSC staff and Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd, commission member Marcel Lacroix said the “grand question” about the project still remains:
“With respect to the present state of the environment, will the construction of the NSDF on the Chalk River site make the environment outside the fence safer and cleaner for the public and First Nations?”
Speaking for AECL, president Fred Dermarkar said the NSDF would be a “fully engineered” solution to low level radioactive waste at Chalk River that takes into account environmental factors like “seismic events, like heavy rainfall, like flooding and so on.”
“There is no question that that containment will be much more effective at protecting the environment than the current arrangements, some of which date back to the 1950s and were built to far, far less stringent standards,” he said…
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