Nuclear waste management & storage

In Canada, there are three nuclear waste classifications:

Lightly contaminated materials such as garments or small tools. 95% of Canada’s nuclear waste overall volume is classified as low-level.

These materials are compacted or incinerated whenever possible to reduce their volume so that the concrete warehouses used to store them can be designed with smaller environmental footprints. With on-going innovations in sorting & recycling, the volume of low-level material continues to decline.

Resins, filters or other items used in the reactors.

The waste is stored in steel-lined, in-ground storage structures where its radioactivity can safely decay.

The nuclear industry is continuously working on ways to re-utilize resin within the industry and are working with Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) to ensure safe, permanent storage of materials that cannot be reused or recycled.

Used nuclear fuel, taken from reactors, is cooled in large water bays for 10 years before being carefully placed into a dry-storage container for interim storage and, eventually, sustainable long-term storage in a deep geologic repository.

The overall volumes of used nuclear fuel are very low. In fact, if all of Canada’s used nuclear fuel was stacked one on top of another, there would only be enough fuel to fill 9 NHL sized hockey rinks from ice surface to the top of the boards.

Waste storage at a glance

Types

Canada’s nuclear waste is categorized into low-level (e.g., tools, clothing), intermediate-level (e.g., reactor components), and high-level waste (e.g., used fuel). Each type is stored and managed in accordance with regulatory requirements.

Spent fuel storage

Used nuclear fuel is cooled in water bays for 10 years before being placed in dry storage containers. These containers are designed to last for decades while shielding radiation.

These containers are safely and securely stored above ground until the development of the long-term geological depository.

Long-term storage

Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is developing a deep geological repository for sustainable, long-term waste storage. This approach will ensure that waste remains safely contained for thousands of years.

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