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OPG Waste Facilities
Western Waste Management Facility (Bruce Power)
Darlington Station Pickering Station
Used Fuel and Future
Refurbishment Waste Storage
Used Fuel and Refurbishment Waste Storage
Used Fuel Refurbishment
and Low and Intermediate
Waste Storage
Waste Overview Video
3 P r e s e n t a t i o n T i t l e
Presentation Outline
Types of Waste Produced and How it is Created
How we Ship our Waste
How we Process our Waste
Where we Store our Waste
Reducing our Current and Future Footprint
4 P r e s e n t a t i o n T i t l e
Waste Types:
Low-Level Waste LLW has a dose rate of less than10
mSv/h at 30 cm, and the waste
stream contains primarily short-
lived radionuclides
• Includes lightly-contaminated
materials:
paper/plastic/gloves/clothing/
tools/wood/concrete, incinerator
ash, and used equipment such as
pipes, valves, heat-exchangers and
steam generators
• Safely handled using normal
industrial practices without any
special radiation protection
• Capable of volume reduction
Waste Types:
Intermediate-Level Waste
ILW waste package has a dose
rate of more than 10 mSv/h at 30
cm, or if it contains significant
amounts of long-lived
radionuclides
Requires radiation shielding during
transportation, handling & storage
Primarily:
Resins (beads)
Filters
Refurbishment waste (fuel channels)
Not processed
Stored in in-ground containers (ICs)
Waste Types: Used Fuel
8 P r e s e n t a t i o n T i t l e
From reactors, used fuel is placed in wet storage pools.
Each reactor site has wet storage facilities for 15-20 years of operation
After a minimum of 10 years in wet storage, used fuel can be transferred to Dry Storage Containers (DSCs)
Wastes from Operations
Day to day operations of running a station online
• Low
• Intermediate
• Used fuel
Outages - offline
System and equipment maintenance
• Low
• Intermediate
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At the half-way point of reactor life –
refurbishment is undertaken
Waste generated:
Sectioned pressure tubes
Calandria tubes
End fittings and shield plugs
Steam generators (Bruce only)
Stored at sites on an interim basis
Wastes from Refurbishment
Wastes from Decommissioning
Stations placed in safe-storage for
approximately 30 years
Earliest start of decommissioning mid-
2040’s
Intermediate level:
• Reactor pressure tubes and end fittings
• Reactor shield tank and core components
Low Level:
• Pumps, steam generators, piping and
valves
• Concrete and structural steel
• Wiring and motors
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As part of operating Nuclear Generating Stations,
OPG must:
1. Move Low and Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste
to Western Waste Management Facility at Bruce Site;
2. Move radioactively-contaminated reactor inspection
tools, heavy water moderator between stations; and
3. Move reactor components and single bundles of
irradiated fuel to AECL-Chalk River for examination.
Why does OPG have a
Transportation program?
Safe and Secure
Our People are Highly Skilled and Trained
• Extra driver training – skid school, load securement
• Trained in Radiation Protection
• Evaluated by external driver training firm every 2 years
Our Equipment and Procedures are Robust
• High frequency of vehicle replacement
• Quarterly and annual maintenance per regulations
• Anti-rollover, tracking systems /GPS
• Transport during regular business hours
• Adverse weather program
• Detailed emergency preparedness procedures
• 24/7 Transportation Emergency Response Team
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Waste Handling and Storage
at WWMF
L&ILW is stored at WWMF
WWMF has been receiving radioactive waste for storage
since 1974
WWMF operation has demonstrated that these waste
packages can be safely handled and stored
Worker and public dose rates have been consistently
below regulatory limits
WWMF safe operating experience over the past
40 years
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Western Waste Management Facility
Proposed
DGR
Low Level
Storage
Used Fuel Dry
Storage
Waste Volume
Reduction
Building
In-Ground
Storage
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Low-Level Waste Processing
Sorting
Incineration
Compaction
Non-
Processible
95% reduction
1:1
75% reduction
Lifecycle Management of OPG’s Low & Intermediate Level Waste
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Continuous Safety Improvement
Initiatives
Continuous Safety Improvement
Initiatives
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Used Fuel Dry Storage
•Stored on an interim basis at:
• Pickering
• Darlington
• Western Waste MF
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Interim Storage
Dry Storage Container (DSC)
• Robust thick inner and outer carbon steel liners
• thick reinforced high density concrete wall
• Weight: 60 tons empty
• 70 tons loaded
Minimizing Waste Volume
Minimization and Volume reduction is critical to effectively
manage current and future storage space
Need to limit on-site expansion/construction of Low Level
Storage Buildings
Need to further reduce volume of waste generated at
source
NWMD conducted a Waste Pilot in 2012/2013 in order to:
Demonstrate and validate third party technologies
Assess cost-effectiveness (ratepayer value for money)
Low Level Non-processible
Low level waste (dry active waste
including bins)
80 bins were sent for sorting and
processing
Results:
• 43% metal, metal melted
• 25% compactable
• 27% incinerable
• 5% “non conforming”
14 bins were returned:
• 11 compacted waste
• 3 incinerator ash
• 1 “non conforming”
Heat Exchanger Metal Melt
Pickering Heat Exchanger
Shipped on tarped transportation
package container
Was metal melted by Energy
Solutions
Virtually 100% Volume Reduction
(only non-ferrous components to
be returned)
Metal repurposed
Metal Tote Frames
Totes used for storage of waste oil;
inner plastic liner becomes
contaminated and treated as rad
waste
Outer metal frame can be free
released
Over 250 of these on site
Fifty were sent off site for
decontamination and free release
Remaining inventory was then
completed by OPG staff - all were
sent to scrap metal recycling
Pickering Drums
Pickering Station had
accumulated > 2,000 empty
stainless steel drums of
varying ages and conditions
Drums were sent for metal
melt
Previously drums would
have been compacted and
stored as radioactive waste
No metal to be returned