STATUS OF CANADA’S GEOSCIENTIFIC SITE EVALUATIONS FOR A DEEP GEOLOGICAL REPOSITORY FOR USED NUCLEAR FUEL (Invited Presentation)

The Nuclear Waste Management (NWMO) is responsible for implementing, collaboratively with Canadians and Indigenous people, Canada’s plan for the safe, long-term management of used nuclear fuel. The NWMO is working to implement Canada’s plan, in a manner that protects both people and the environment. Canada’s plan calls for containment and isolation of used nuclear fuel in a deep geological repository, which is made up of a series of natural and engineered barriers. This facility will be located in an area with informed, willing hosts within a suitable rock formation.

In 2010, the NWMO initiated a nine-step site selection process to seek an informed and willing community to host Canada’s deep geological repository. The geoscience site evaluation process includes three main technical evaluation steps to assess the suitability of candidate areas in a stepwise manner. By the end of 2012, twenty-two communities had expressed interest in learning more about the project. As of 2021, two areas remain in the site selection process. The NWMO is on track to identify a single, preferred location for this facility by approximately 2023. This paper describes the approach, methods and criteria being used to assess the geoscientific suitability of communities currently involved in the site selection process. Activities to interweave Indigenous Traditional Knowledge with western science are also discussed.