Laurie Swami
President & CEO,
NWMO
Joanne Jacyk
Director of Site Selection,
NWMO
Canada’s NWMO is advancing two deep geological repositories and a Centre of Expertise to ensure nuclear waste safety while benefitting local communities.
Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is hitting milestone after milestone as it announces the next steps toward opening Canada’s first deep geological repository for used nuclear fuel and begins preliminary work on a second repository for intermediate-level and high-level nuclear waste.
“Like many countries with commercial nuclear power programs, Canada is planning for the future,” says Laurie Swami, President and CEO of the NWMO. “There is international scientific consensus that a deep geological repository is the safest way to manage intermediate- and high-level waste over the long-term.”
Like many countries with commercial nuclear power programs, Canada is planning for the future.
A collaborative effort
In 2024, after a comprehensive site selection process, the NWMO selected a site in northwestern Ontario as the future location of the first repository, and last month announced the five companies that will design and plan the repository.
The NWMO, as the owner of the project, will be working with WSP Canada Inc., Peter Kiewit Sons ULC (Kiewit) , Hatch Ltd., Thyssen Mining Construction of Canada Ltd., and Kinectrics Inc. The chosen companies will work on facility infrastructure design and engineering, construction planning, mine design, mine construction, nuclear management advising and nuclear systems, and facilities design.
Though construction won’t begin until the deep geological repository has successfully completed the federal government’s multi-year regulatory process and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation’s Regulatory Assessment and Approval Process, pulling the team together that will design how the repository is built and operated is a massive step forward in the process.
A new hub for research and innovation
While the repository is being planned, the NWMO is moving forward with a Centre of Expertise in the Township of Ignace. Expected to open in 2028, the Centre of Expertise will be a multi-million-dollar investment and an important landmark and international destination in northwestern Ontario, serving as a hub for research and development, community engagement, and knowledge-sharing.
A request for proposals was recently issued to design the centre, and the NWMO is prioritizing local and Indigenous vendors in the evaluation criteria.
The Centre of Expertise will be a place for world-class science and innovation and will bring new high-value jobs to the community, including scientists and experts from a wide variety of disciplines for generations to come.
Enriching the local community
“The Centre of Expertise will be home to hundreds of high-value jobs, will provide educational opportunities across the region, and is expected to attract Canadian and international visitors,” says Swami. “This is one of the most tangible benefits and most exciting commitments made by the NWMO to the communities hosting the deep geological repository, and we can’t wait to see it spring to life in the coming years.”
While the first repository and the Centre of Expertise continue to be designed and planned, the NWMO is hard at work preparing its siting approach for a second deep geological repository, which will house intermediate- and high-level radioactive waste, and potentially used nuclear fuel from new nuclear reactors built in Canada in the future.
As part of that process, the organization is inviting feedback from Canadians and Indigenous Peoples to refine a proposed site selection process. The recently released discussion paper kicks off an engagement process that will solicit public input across the country before the site selection process for the second repository begins in 2028.
Looking ahead to the future
As with the used nuclear fuel that will be placed in the first repository, Canada’s intermediate- and high-level waste is safely stored on an interim basis, but the methods used today are temporary and not suitable for the very long term.
For the second repository, the NWMO is continuing its longstanding focus on technical safety and community willingness as primary site selection criteria.
Intermediate-level waste includes equipment and components that have been used inside nuclear reactors in the production of electricity from nuclear fuel, but excludes nuclear fuel itself, which is high-level waste.
Non-fuel high-level nuclear waste includes small quantities of materials used in the process of making medical isotopes. Many isotopes are used for cancer treatments and diagnosis and the sterilization of medical equipment. Canada is a global leader in medical isotope production.
“We’re committed to seeking input from Indigenous Peoples from the very beginning of our site selection process for the next deep geological repository, and to forging relationships built upon trust and transparency,” says Joanne Jacyk, the NWMO’s Director of Site Selection for the second repository project.
The NWMO is well-positioned to move these historic projects toward completion, ensuring that Canada has a safe, permanent way to store its nuclear waste to make sure it isn’t left as a burden for future generations to carry.
To learn more, visit nwmo.ca.
