Waste Analysis Facility Opens at Chalk River

June 23, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS

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The new Waste Analysis Facility (WAF) at the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) Chalk River nuclear site was officially opened, according to Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).

Canada's government provided $4.5 million to build the facility as part of its five-year strategy to begin cleaning up the "nuclear legacy liabilities" resulting from R&D activities that date back to the beginning of nuclear technologies and medicine in Canada.

"In 2006, our government unveiled a concrete action plan to clean up contaminated lands and radioactive waste and to decommission outdated infrastructure.

"We moved swiftly because the safety and security of Canadians is our top priority, and communities, like those of the Ottawa Valley, had waited too long while previous governments ignored this issue," said Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, Gary Lunn.

"This new facility will be responsible for reviewing and analyzing waste to ensure that there is no radioactive contamination before the waste is sent for recycling or to a landfill."

Canada's Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program (NLLP) was announced in June 2006 and provides a long-term strategy to manage legacy wastes and contamination on AECL sites, including Chalk River, Whiteshell and others.

Experts said more than half of Canada's nuclear liabilities are the result of Cold War activities from the 1940s, '50s and early '60s. The remaining liabilities stem from the R&D of medical isotopes and from nuclear reactor technology, as well as national science programs. The legacy wastes are the responsibility of Canada and distinct from those produced by the nuclear industry and provincial utilities.

Source: Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).