Legacy Liability
Nuclear Power Demonstration Reactor
One of CNL’s three missions is to manage decommissioning responsibilities and reduce
nuclear legacy liabilities for Canada, including developing and implementing a safe
decommissioning solution for the Nuclear Power Demonstration Reactor (NPD).
A first in Canada
NPD played an important part in the history of nuclear
energy in Canada as it was the first nuclear power
reactor to contribute to the electrical grid.
25 years of serving Canadian industry
In 1988, following permanent shutdown of the reactor,
removal of the fuel, heavy water and power generating
equipment from the site, Ontario Hydro transferred
the responsibility of monitoring and licencing of NPD
to Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL). Now, CNL
has a commitment to the government of Canada to
permanently decommission the remaining structures.
Ensuring a solution for future generations
Decommissioning NPD will also provide an opportunity
to collapse the footprint of the site that is currently in
the care of CNL. Once the decommissioning project is
complete, approximately one per cent of the land will
remain under institutional control for monitoring by
CNL.
Decommissioning Solution
NPD Closure Project
Why in-situ decommissioning?
In-situ decommissioning has been selected as the
decommissioning technique as it provides the following
advantages:
• Reduced risk for radiological and industrial hazards exposure to workers
• Reduced transport/waste handling risks to the
public and environment
• Effective reduction of the nuclear liability and
eliminating interim waste storage
• Eliminates the risk associated with multiple handling of waste packages to and from interim storage and final disposal
• Allows for early release of non-impacted NPD
property
A disadvantage of in-situ decommissioning is that
it requires additional long-term monitoring of the
impacted area, as a result of the disposal site created.
A Safe Technique
NPD Closure Project
The fundamental objective of in-situ decommissioning is to contain and isolate the
remaining waste inventory to prevent a release of radioactivity to the environment.
Doing so ensures that post-decommissioning doses and environmental
concentrations are acceptably low under all plausible conditions.
The nature of the materials at the Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD) site, known
collectively as the waste inventory, as well as the numerous safeguards to protect
the environment and human health, make this reactor a particularly suitable
candidate for in-situ decommissioning.
Waste Inventory
The end state of in-situ decommissioning of the NPD reactor will result in a disposal facility at the
NPD site. The waste inventory will include the following inventory, which will be grouted in place:
Six Key Safety Features
1. The majority of the radioactivity is present within the reactor components. The reactor components includes steel and zircaloy, which will corrode very slowly in expected chemical environment.
2. The reactor, which is already tens of metres into the bedrock, is protected by the thick concrete vault walls, as well as the facility’s structure walls.
3. The backfilled grouted vault will constrain the rates of groundwater flow and maintain an alkaline environment, which enhances absorption of radionuclides.
4. The isolation of radionuclides will be further achieved by filling much of NPD with grout.
5. A concrete cap will be constructed over the grouted facility to protect against
inadvertent human intrusion.
6. An engineered cover will be placed over the concrete cap to divert surface water from the facility.
• activated reactor components
• contaminated nuclear systems or structure
• designated substances
What is Waste Characterization?
Understanding the waste inventory at NPD is
vital to the in-situ decommissioning method;
a robust characterization program allows
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories to achieve a
better understanding of the types and levels of
radionuclides in a particular waste inventory.
To verify the waste inventory in detail, the NPD
Closure Project team is conducting extensive
characterization activities, including:
• sampling of the reactor components
• internal scrapings of the nuclear systems
• systematic surveys of the building
Minimizing Environmental Impact
NPD Closure Project
The Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD) Closure Project plans to curtail any impact that decommissioning activities may have on the environment through mitigation of
identified effects and by monitoring to that ensure the anticipated minimal impact to the environment is, in fact, maintained.
Mitigation measures: proposed actions to minimize the potential
environmental impact of the project activities
Follow-up monitoring is done to:
• Confirm that the effects on the environment are similar to what the Environmental Impact Statement predicts
• Determine if mitigation measures are working as intended
Mitigation and Monitoring after Decommissioning
In-design mitigation measures and safety features to prevent releases to
the environment include:
• Grout: the grouted facility will isolate radionuclides
• Cap: the concrete cap will protect against inadvertent human intrusion
• Engineered cover: an engineered cover will be placed over the concrete cap to divert surface water from the facility
Follow up monitoring:
• Visual inspections of the site, management of vegetation and maintenance of the engineered cover
• Groundwater monitoring would occur on down and side gradient of the grouted facility
Mitigation Measures during the NPD Closure Project
Environmental Effect
Mitigation Measures
Impact to Air Emissions
Wetting or misting during demolition
Impact to surface water
Secondary containment of storage
tanks and use of silt fences
Greenhouse gas emissions
Proper vehicle maintenance and limit
idling
Environmental Effect
Follow-up Monitoring
Impact to Human Health
Monitoring of worker dose and general
radiation fields around the NPD site
Impact to Chimney Swifts (e.g.
noise, vibration, light)
Regular Chimney Swift Counts during their
seasonal presence at NPD
CNL designs the
monitoring programs
in compliance with
Canadian standards.
Designing a monitoring program
Identify
potential
environmental Risk
Determine need to
monitor
• Environmental risk
assessment
• Human health risk
assessment
• Environmental
assessment (EA)
under the CEAA 2012
• Other
• Is there a potential
risk?
• Is there a regulatory
or licensing need?
• Are stakeholders
concerned?
• In order to confirm
predictions for EA
Design program
Monitor
• Compartments to
monitor
• Locations to monitor
• Parameters to
monitor
• Frequency of
monitoring
• Sampling and
analysis
• Quality control
• Quality
assurance
• Interpret results
• Compare to
limits
• Prepare reports
The Canadian Standards
Association’s (CSA)
criteria provide
guidance on derived
release limits,
environmental risk
assessment (ERA) and
environmental, effluent
and groundwater
monitoring and
protection programs.
What you told us
NPD Closure Project
Over the last year, you’ve told us what you think
about the Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD)
Closure Project. At our public information sessions
and community events, on the telephone and by
email, you have shared your thoughts and opinions
on the decommissioning of the first power reactor
in Canada to provide electricity to the grid.
Several comments have also been provided to
the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC)
and posted on the web page for the NPD Closure
Project’s Environmental Assessment (reference
number: 80121).
Knowing what aspects of the environment you
value helps us identify what to assess in the
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and ensures
appropriate mitigations are in place to protect our
environment. In this way, you inform how we plan
for the decommissioning of NPD.
The EIS is a document that the project team
working on the NPD Closure Project will submit
to the CNSC detailing how Canadian Nuclear
Laboratories (CNL) is fulfilling the requirements of
the Environmental Assessment process.
What’s on your mind...
How will the decommissioning affect the chimney swifts roosting in the NPD stack?
How will the Ottawa River be protected?
Has this project examined the potential effects of an earthquake or climate change or other natural disasters?
How will monitoring occur around the site and how long will the NPD site be monitored post‐decommissioning?
What is the cost of this option in comparison to alternative methods, and who is funding this project?
How will the unaffected land be released after the project is finished?
Contact Us!
For more information or to share your thoughts related to this project, contact us:
The Environmental Impact Statement: Important Dates
Email: [email protected]
September 2017
Telephone: 1-800-364-6989
The NPD Closure Project submits the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to the
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and the public can submit comments to the CNSC
on the draft EIS
Web page: www.cnl.ca/NPD
Social Media:
@CNL_LNC
December 2017
@CanadianNuclearLaboratories
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s deadline for accepting public comments on the draft
Environmental Impact Statement for the NPD Closure Project
December 2018
Anticipated date for the Environmental Assessment decision on the NPD Closure Project