Background

Canada generates 16% of its electric power from nuclear energy, resulting in an annual waste output of about 85,000 nuclear fuel bundles (NWMO 2012a, p. 8).  These bundles have similar dimension to a fireplace log and weight about 24kg.  They are stored on-site, first in a water-filled spent fuel pool, and then in secure dry storage containers above ground.   With increased accumulation of containers at nuclear sites and no long term plan for removal, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization is looking to implement a more robust and permanent waste disposal solution.   

NWMO is currently in the process of selecting a location for a proposed deep geological nuclear repository. A nuclear repository is an underground facility designed to be the final resting place of spent fuel rods, highly radioactive waste products produced during the fission process.

The deep geological repository will consist of facility tunneled deep within in the Canadian Shield, at a depth of 500 to 1000 meters. The waste will be transported to this location and stored at depths where it will ideally pose a limited threat, and will be secure for the foreseeable future. It will be stored in its original highly resistant containers, with the underground tomb acting as a secondary safety system.

The project is currently in the public review stage and, as of September 2012, 15 communities have applied to host the nuclear repository. The energy agency is now consulting the public, and will begin determining the suitability of the sites in the near future. Click here or more information on the proposed repository.

Our goal is to determine the least risk route from the Pickering nuclear facility in Ontario to the proposed repository locations.  This was achieved by operationalizing a number of infrastructure and population variables to highlight areas of risk, not suitable for waste transport. These risk variables were chosen to represent the potential of increased hazards both terms of the possibility of an accident occurring during transportation, and the impact it would have on the surrounding population.  We will not be modeling rafioactive contamination following an accident, and instead assume that proximity to the line results in higher exposure to risk, i.e. meteorology and hydrological effects will not be modeled.

Nuclear waste is usually transported by rail or by land in containers hidden in unmarked trucks and rail cars. Our model only looks at transport by railroads on existing rail lines.  The weaknesses in infrastructure, components which increase the risk of accidents, were chosen to be intersections with roads (local and highways), bridges, and tunnels. Pickering was selected because it has the most operational reactors in Canada, produces the most waste, and is the closest reactor to heavily populated areas.  It is likely to have the most conflicts during routing, therefore will benefit most from modeling.