The Ottawa Chapter advocates for the protection of local waterways from the threat of poorly managed nuclear waste
In 2021, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is preparing to hold hearings and grant a license to a permanent radioactive waste facility alongside the Ottawa River at Chalk River, upstream from the City of Ottawa.
The city of Gatineau, the communities of Clarence-Rockland, East Hawkesbury, Champlain, the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, and over 100 Québec municipalities have passed similar resolutions opposing this radioactive waste plan.
Residents of the Ottawa region are very worried that dangerous radioactive waste could contaminate the Ottawa River if these plans are not changed. These nuclear facilities are operated by the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) consortium, including SNC-Lavalin and two American corporations, under a federal government contract. CNL plans to ship radioactive waste from federal nuclear sites in Manitoba, Southern Ontario and Québec to Chalk River. Together with existing radioactive waste at Chalk River from contaminated land and buildings, it will be put into an engineered containment mound that CNL refers to as a “Near Surface Disposal Facility” (NSDF). The waste will be contained in a “geomembrane” and be covered over by a combination of sand, stone, gravel and top soil.
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This “mound”:
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will be 7 stories high and cover 11 hectares – the area of 70 NHL hockey rinks
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will contain one million cubic metres of radioactive nuclear waste
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is directly over an active earthquake zone above porous and fractured rock
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is less than a kilometre from the Ottawa River
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is beside a small lake that drains directly into the Ottawa River through a creek
Portions of the mound will remain uncovered for over 50 years. Radioactive material will mix with rain and snow, creating contaminated water that is very difficult to treat. Some of this radioactive waste will be released into the environment and make its way back to the Ottawa River. Climate change, with unpredictable, catastrophic weather, potential earthquakes, and flooding could all contribute to permanent radioactive contamination of the Ottawa River.
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We are alarmed by CNL's plans to consolidate radioactive waste at Chalk River and entomb a defunct nuclear reactor at nearby Rolphton, ON. Both sites are far too close to the Ottawa River, and the potential for contamination is too great. Millions of people rely on the Ottawa River for drinking water.
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Read our backgrounder on the issue to learn more about the history of Chalk River: What's Going On Up-River
Protect the Ottawa River
(2021) Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ (CNL) is charging forward with their dangerous plan to build a massive, permanent, radioactive waste mound next to the Ottawa River – your drinking water source. They have blatantly disregarded the testimony and advice from experts and citizens alike.Building this nuclear dump at Chalk River will threaten the drinking water source for millions of people downstream for generations. Ottawa City Council must speak-out against this terrible plan.
Tell Ottawa City Council to voice their opposition to this dangerous proposal.
If built, the “Near Surface Disposal Facility” (NSDF) will result in a radioactive mound five to seven storeys high, and about the size of 19 football fields. Runoff from the dumpsite will drain into a wetland and small lake, which in turn drain into the Ottawa River.Radioactive tritium previously released from the Chalk River facilities has already contaminated Perch Lake. This proposed dump will make things much worse.
Large amounts of radioactive material are already being trucked to Chalk River from nuclear facilities such as the Whiteshell Laboratories in Manitoba and the decommissioned Gentilly nuclear reactors in Quebec.
But this is not a done deal! We can still stop CNL’s dangerous plans. The Assembly of First Nations and more than 140 municipalities, including Gatineau and the entire Montreal region, have passed resolutions opposing or expressing deep concern about the plans for Chalk River. It’s time for the citizens of Ottawa and our city council to speak up.
Send a letter today to your city councillors
The government regulator has not fulfilled its responsibilities and is clearly little more than an official “rubber stamp” for the nuclear industry. Throughout the recent approvals processes, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) ignored serious concerns raised by the United Nations, environmental protection agencies and even former Chalk River scientists. The CNSC is now refusing to allow further public participation.Emboldened by the corporate capture of the federal regulator, CNL also wants to build “next generation” experimental nuclear reactors at Chalk River. The requirement for environmental assessments of these modular reactors has been removed without justification or adequate consultation.
Contrary to Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan and nuclear industry claims, these experimental nuclear reactors will take too long to build, cost far more than renewable energy alternatives, and produce even more radioactive waste. In turn, this waste will need to be dumped somewhere. There’s also the possibility of a nuclear accident.We need to act together and resist these irresponsible and short-sighted plans with all our collective strength.
Read our backgrounder to answer all your questions about CNL's plans for nuclear waste.