WELCOME TO CONTACT, WHITESHELL LABORATORIES' NEWSLETTER

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1 Winter 2012 Volume 1, Issue 1 In this issue of CONTACT HISTORY OF WHITESHELL Atomic Energy of Canada Limited was established in 1952 by the Canadian government to develop peaceful uses of nuclear energy. AECL s Whiteshell Laboratories were established near Pinawa, Manitoba in the early 1960s. READ MORE ON PAGE 3 CONSTRUCTION OF FACILITIES The decommissioning cannot be carried out without the construction of enabling facilities to process and store contaminated waste materials. READ MORE ON PAGE 5 WELCOME TO CONTACT, WHITESHELL LABORATORIES' NEWSLETTER The Whiteshell Laboratories Decommissioning Project near Pinawa, Manitoba is making excellent progress and we want to ensure that all of our local community residents are kept informed of this progress. If our community survey (attached) indicates that you like to receive this magazine, we will continue to print and distribute it in the area to keep you informed of activities at Whiteshell Laboratories. COMMUNICATION WITH THE PUBLIC AECL has engaged the public in the decommissioning project in a number of ways: Through its open houses during the environmental assessment for the decommissioning project; Through a Communications Protocol with Sagkeeng First Nation established at the time of the environmental assessment; and Through the Public Liaison Committee established at the beginning of the decommissioning project and continuing to meet twice a year. New communication initiatives include the Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program Website and this newsletter. 1

2 Plain Talk I have been involved with the Whiteshell Laboratories Decommissioning Project team for the last four years, as the Vice-president & General Manager of Decommissioning & Waste Management for Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and as the Site Licence Holder for all of the activities at the site, which are licenced through the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). Although not resident here, I regularly visit the Whiteshell Laboratories site and have had the opportunity to meet many of the local stakeholders and community representatives through the Public Liaison Committee and through personal meetings. Through this period, the number of staff has grown considerably to over 350, and there are real visible changes to the site as the decommissioning proceeds. In 2002, Whiteshell Laboratories created a Public Liaison Committee, comprising elected officials from area towns and municipalities and environment officials from the provincial government. This committee meets twice a year when members come to site to learn about the ongoing decommissioning activities, tour the site to experience the progress first hand, and bring forward any questions or concerns. This newsletter is our way of keeping the general public informed. Please read about some of the current decommissioning activities happening at Whiteshell Laboratories and the enabling facilities that are being constructed on site to manage and store wastes produced by the decommissioning, thus reducing environmental risks and liabilities on site. We have also incorporated a community survey at the back of the newsletter to give you an opportunity to let us know if you like this form of communicating with you while the decommissioning process continues. Can you please take a few minutes to complete it and mail, fax or it to us? Or you can complete the survey online at wl_community_survey.pdf I look forward to keeping you informed. Joan Miller Vice-president and General Manager of Decommissioning & Waste Management, and Site Licence Holder for Whiteshell Laboratories 2

3 History of Whiteshell Laboratories Atomic Energy of Canada Limited was established in 1952 by the Canadian government to develop peaceful uses of nuclear energy. AECL s Whiteshell Laboratories (WL) were established near Pinawa, Manitoba in the early 1960s to carry out nuclear research and development activities for the CANDU Reactor and to investigate alternate reactor designs. Through its years of operation, the Whiteshell Laboratories made significant contributions to the development of the CANDU design, particularly in the areas of reactor safety and dry used fuel storage, which was developed at WL and is now used throughout the nuclear industry worldwide. Canada s Nuclear Fuel Waste Management Program (NFWMP) whose mandate was to develop the scientific basis for the safe disposal of nuclear fuel in a deep geologic repository on the Canadian Shield, was based at WL. The Underground Research Laboratory (URL) associated with Whiteshell Laboratories, located approximately 20 km North East of WL in the R.M. of Lac du Bonnet, was a 443 m deep facility excavated in a previously undisturbed granite rock formation in which fullscale experiments and tests were conducted in support of NFWMP research. Decommissioning of the underground workings of the URL was completed in As a result of the financial impact of a federal government s program review process, AECL made a business decision in 1997 to discontinue most research programs and operations at Whiteshell Laboratories. Subsequently, AECL received government concurrence in 1998 to proceed with actions to achieve closure of the Whiteshell Laboratories. Activities are now underway to complete the orderly decommissioning of the Whiteshell Laboratories site. A comprehensive environmental assessment to decommission the Whiteshell Laboratories was successfully completed in 2001, and the decommissioning activities were commenced under its first decommissioning licence for the site, issued in 2002 by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). The current licence, issued in 2008, is in effect until 2018, with site inspections conducted by the CNSC on a regular basis and updates on progress provided by AECL to the CNSC throughout this period. 3

4 Projects & Activities Building 400 before demolition Building 400 after demolition Decommissioning the Whiteshell Laboratories I n 2006, the Government of Canada established the Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program (NLLP) which is a long-term strategy to deal with the nuclear legacy liabilities at AECL sites. Through this program, the Government of Canada endorsed and funded an accelerated approach to the decommissioning of the Whiteshell Laboratories site. This marked a change in the original plan which envisaged a longer term decommissioning timeline. All of the decommissioning work carried out at Whiteshell Laboratories falls under the NLLP, a program that is funded through Natural Resources Canada. The NLLP brings the necessary resources to implement environmental restoration activities and enhance waste management practices. It also endorses the construction of enabling facilities facilities that employ modern waste handling and storage technology on a scale needed for full decommissioning of the large radiochemical laboratories and other nuclear facilities. Grant Koroll, Director, Decommissioning Strategic Planning, remarked, The biggest challenge in the decommissioning of Whiteshell Laboratories is to effectively coordinate the various work groups to safely execute the planned project, coordinating the construction of enabling facilities, and consolidation of nuclear services. Over the next ten years, this work will enable Whiteshell Laboratories to reduce its nuclear footprint and site operating costs significantly. The decommissioning work and the design and construction of enabling facilities are well underway, added Grant. These include waste handling and waste clearance facilities. Construction of a Shielded Modular Above Ground Storage (SMAGS) facility for lowlevel radioactive waste was recently completed. Decommissioning efforts are currently focused on the Building 300 Radiochemical Laboratory building. Building 300 was the primary research laboratory for the Whiteshell Laboratories site. Comprising an area of approximately 17,000 m 2, the complex housed more than 170 labs, approximately 400 offices, mechanical rooms and storage areas, and a high bay for large-scale engineering experiments. The building was constructed in stages, and similarly, the decommissioning strategy is to demolish the building in stages. Demolition of approximately 50 percent of the Building 300 Radiochemical Laboratory will be staged over the next few years. 4

5 Construction of Enabling Facilities T he decommissioning cannot be carried out without the construction of enabling facilities to process and store contaminated waste materials. Two enabling facilities are being constructed on site currently: the Shielded Modular Above Ground Storage (SMAGS) building, and the Soil Storage Compound. The SMAGS building was recently completed and will be used for the storage of low-level radioactive waste (LLW) secured from decommissioning activities. Prior to placement for storage in SMAGS, LLW is characterized, highly compacted and packaged in engineered containers. The building incorporates radiation shielding using 36 cm-thick, pre-cast concrete components. The concrete foundation and a below-foundation membrane system provide containment barriers to the environment. The SMAGS concept has already demonstrated effectiveness at the Ontario Power Generation Western Waste Management Facility and at AECL s Chalk River Laboratories. required for nuclear constructions. Organizing this project has been challenging as it involves the cooperation of many external subcontractors. explained Shawn Keith, Project Leader. One of the critical construction activities undertaken was the massive, 22-hour, single-pour, concrete foundation. This required a very large planning effort by both the general contractor and AECL, and was completed successfully and safety-incidentfree. AECL staff are now commissioning the building systems and the facility will be turned over to the Waste Management Operations group within a few months. Another aspect of risk reduction on site is the remediation of contaminated soil, and the placement of this waste into licensed interim storage structures within the Waste Continued on page 6 The construction of the SMAGS building was managed by a general contractor selected to provide the quality assurance standard Shielded Modular Above-Ground Storage Building 5

6 Projects & Activities Continued from page 5 Management Area (WMA). Small amounts of low-level contaminated soil generated from past operational activities are currently stored inside existing bunkers and buildings at the WMA. The decommissioning of the Whiteshell Laboratories site will generate a larger volume of contaminated soil than can be accommodated inside existing WMA facilities. In order to provide safe, interim storage of low-level contaminated soil during this phase of the Whiteshell Laboratories site decommissioning, a Soil Storage Compound has been constructed at the Whiteshell Laboratories site within the boundaries of the existing WMA. Following a thorough analysis of the potential options for safe storage, it was determined that the option that best met the needs of the Whiteshell Laboratories Decommissioning Project was an open mound with environmental barriers designed to hold 2,000 m 3 of low-level contaminated soil. The environmental barrier system is composed of natural material (bentonite) and synthetic material (high density polyethylene) which guard against contamination from the soil moving to the surrounding area, and ensure that a high standard of environmental safety is maintained. Work continues on preparation of operating and maintenance procedures, licensing and commissioning. The Soil Storage Compound is planned to be operational in early NLLP Website and Video NLLP staff have recently produced an informational video summarizing the decommissioning activities being carried out at Whiteshell Laboratories. To view the video and to learn more about the NLLP and the Whiteshell Laboratories projects, visit our website at For information on AECL, visit our corporate website at FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: AECL Whiteshell Laboratories Pinawa, Manitoba R0E 1L0 Telephone:

7 Community Survey Whiteshell Laboratories would like to know how you want to learn more about ongoing activities on site. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey and mail, fax or it to Jodie Lussier, Station 82, Whiteshell Laboratories, Pinawa, Manitoba R0E 1L0. Fax: info@nuclearlegacyprogram.ca or you can complete it online at 1A. Are you a resident of the Pinawa/Lac du Bonnet area? Yes No 1B. Which municipality do you reside in? 2. Which of the following groups best identifies whom you represent: Elected Official (municipal, county, provincial or federal) Community Group Retired AECL employee Media outlet Citizen Employee 3. Do you think residents in our local communities receive sufficient information regarding AECL s Whiteshell Laboratories activities? Yes No No opinion 4. How often do you think AECL Whiteshell Laboratories should be communicating with the community? Other: Quarterly Twice a year Annually 5. What topics do you want AECL Whiteshell Laboratories to communicate to the community about? Please choose all that apply. Decommissioning activities Environmental management Employment Community involvement All of the above Other: 7

8 6. Did your household receive this copy of CONTACT Whiteshell? Yes No If No, where did you receive this copy? 7. Do you have any suggestions for content you would like to see in the Newsletter? 8. Have you visited the website for information about the Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program? Yes No 9. Do you have suggestions for improvements to the website What means of communication should AECL use to provide information to the community? Please choose all that apply. Other: Newsletter Website Press release to local media outlets 11. Do you have any suggestions on how AECL could better communicate with our local community members? Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. For questions please contact: Mary MacCafferty or her at 8