Questions and responses 41st Parliament, 2nd session October 16, 2013, to August 2, 2015

With regard to the 267,000 cubic meters of low and intermediate level radioactive wastes that are stored above ground in concrete containers at the Chalk River Laboratories: (a) what is the long-term plan for the containment and safe storage of these wastes; (b) how has the safety of these containers been demonstrated and what is their design life; (c) how has their long term performance been (i) evaluated, (ii) verified; (d) is there an update on the proposed deep geological repository at the Chalk River property and what is (i) the project description, (ii) the project scope; (e) how much will the deep geological repository cost; (f) how has the long term performance been evaluated for the proposed deep geological repository; (g) has a post-closure safety assessment been done; (h) what has been the process for public participation in this project’s development to date; (i) what are the future plans for public participation; and (j) what is the peer review process for this proposed deep geological repository?

With regard to the 23,000 liters of highly enriched uranium (HEU) waste that will be transported from Chalk River to the United States: (a) will the government subject this plan to outside scrutiny to discuss the environmental and safety concerns; (b) how much highly enriched uranium waste is currently being stored at Chalk River; (c) how has the safety of the HEU waste been evaluated, including current and proposed waste management approaches; (d) what are the containers and transportation aspects; and (e) what is the government’s plan for the remainder of this HEU and the waste in the future?

With regard to the government’s pledge to end the use of highly enriched uranium (HEU) to produce medical isotopes by 2016: (a) what is the progress of producing medical isotopes without HEU; (b) what is the cost and plan for decommissioning the National Research University reactor at Chalk River and what is the management plan for decommissioning wastes; (c) how much money will the government save through the privatization of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL); (d) does the government have a plan if it does not meet its 2016 pledge to stop using HEU to produce medical isotopes; (e) how will the government handle cost runs related to the short, medium and long term management of nuclear wastes?