The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) hosted the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) last week to support the NWTRB’s efforts to learn from international experiences regarding the siting of used nuclear fuel facilities. The NWTRB’s visit to Canada follows the NWMO’s presentation to a NWTRB workshop on siting processes for used nuclear fuel facilities in August. 

The NWTRB, an independent federal agency in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, toured the municipality of South Bruce alongside Mayor Mark Goetz and staff from the NWMO to learn more about Canada’s plan for the safe, long-term management of used nuclear fuel. 

“The municipality was proud to welcome members of the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board to our community,” said Mayor Goetz. “We appreciated the opportunity to share our experiences as a siting community and learn from the expertise that each of the board members has.” 

The NWTRB also toured the NWMO’s Discovery and Demonstration Centre in Oakville, Ont. on Thursday. The NWTRB explored a life-size model of one of the repository’s underground storage rooms, engaged with NWMO experts on the safety of the repository’s natural and engineered barriers, and viewed the NWMO’s copper-coated used fuel containers and bentonite clay-based boxes. During the visit to Canada, the NWTRB also visited a borehole site where research on geology at repository depth has been conducted. 

“We are pleased to have facilitated the NWTRB’s visit to Canada to support international learning on important used nuclear fuel topics,” said Dakota Kochie, the NWMO’s Director of Government and External Relations. “Sharing our story, engaging hands-on and facilitating mutual learning with other nations is an important part of the NWMO’s efforts to foster international co-operation.” 

The NWTRB recently hosted an “International Workshop on Siting of Radioactive Waste Facilities” to identify lessons learned from the siting of radioactive waste management facilities in foreign countries. The workshop featured representatives from the nuclear waste management programs of the U.S., Sweden, Switzerland and Canada. Lisa Frizzell, Vice-President of Communications at the NWMO, spoke at the NWTRB’s workshop, where she provided an overview of Canada’s plan and answered questions from NWTRB members. 

This week’s visit furthered the NWTRB’s understanding of the NWMO’s activities and allowed the NWMO to brief the NWTRB in detail on Canada’s plan to safely and responsibly store used nuclear fuel in a deep geological repository. 

The NWMO actively supports international co-operation and regularly facilitates tours and visits to Canada from international groups. The organization has co-operation agreements with counterparts in Belgium, Finland, France, Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as a memorandum of understanding with the NWMO’s counterpart in Taiwan.