23.13 Making Connections

WHAT DO WE DO WITH NUCLEAR WASTE PRODUCTS?

Background: One of the problems with nuclear material is that the radiation generated is harmful to life AND it persists in the environment for a long time—from hundreds of thousands to millions of years. To date, we have no long-term solution to the problem of what to do with much of this material. Currently, material is stored in what are described as “temporary” facilities (see Infographic 23.7), although the reality is that they are de facto permanent facilities.

Case: You are member of a citizen’s group seeking to prevent the transportation of nuclear waste on the highway that goes through your town. Before joining the group, you were unaware that nuclear waste was being transported by truck to disposal sites. You must research the issue and make a presentation to the members of the group. (The CNSC website mentioned above is a good starting place.) Make sure that you include the following:

1. What type of nuclear waste is transported across the country?
2. Where are the waste storage facilities for low-level nuclear waste? For waste incidental to reprocessing?
3. How is nuclear waste transported? What regulations are in place to provide safe transportation?
   1. Based on your research, what recommendations would you make to your group concerning the current transportation of nuclear waste? For example, is it relatively safe? Have there been releases of radiation to the environment because of transportation? What type of regulations could your locality enact to enhance safety while the material is being transported through your region?
   2. In the event that a long-term disposal site for spent nuclear fuel is approved, how would you suggest that the material be transported to the site from the nuclear power plants across Canada?