Nov 4, 2021
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) is proud to announce the capping and closure of the engineered aboveground mound at the Port Granby Long-Term Waste Management Facility in Clarington, Ontario, as part of the Port Hope Area Initiative (PHAI).
Construction at the Port Granby Project storage facility began in 2016 and involved the installation of multi-layered base liner and cover systems to safely isolate approximately 1.3 million tonnes of low-level radioactive waste from the environment. In November 2020, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) completed the excavation and safe transfer of historic waste from the former site on the shores of Lake Ontario. Maintenance and monitoring at this facility will continue for hundreds of years.
The facility is one of several environmental remediation projects being undertaken by CNL, including the design and construction of a similar facility proposed for the Chalk River Laboratories site, known as the Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF), which is currently undergoing an environmental assessment.
This is a significant achievement, one which has only been made possible through collaborative work between AECL, CNL and municipal partners.
“This milestone represents a strong and continuous commitment to our environmental protection initiatives,” said Fred Dermarkar, President and CEO of AECL. “Together, we are addressing key environmental remediation responsibilities now to leave an honourable legacy for future generations.”
We would like to congratulate all staff and contractors for their hard work, and we look forward to celebrating with the community and Indigenous nations in the spring.
For more information on the Port Granby Project and the PHAI, please visit CNL’s website.
Chalk River | Nov 3, 2021
On November 2, 2021, leaders from Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), the Department of Energy of the United States of America (DOE), the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) reaffirmed their shared commitment to sustainability in the management of legacy nuclear sites.
This partnership enhances collaboration and improves the collective approaches to sustainability and climate resilience, while reducing the impacts on communities and the environment from the decommissioning and remediation of legacy nuclear sites.
This cooperative effort is under the March 2020 Statement of Intent among AECL, DOE, and NDA for the Exchange of Information Concerning Management of Radioactive Waste, which formalized a trilateral framework for the longstanding collaboration between the three organizations in the area of legacy nuclear sites, and their commitment to protecting the environment, as well as addressing both climate change and socio-economic outcomes.
The three organizations plan to share their experience and approaches to managing the decommissioning, remediation and transformation of their legacy nuclear sites in the most effective, efficient, safe and sustainable way. This includes taking steps to embed sustainability in each of their supply chains, minimizing waste, enhancing biodiversity, decarbonizing operations and managing long term socioeconomic impacts to the surrounding communities – both during their respective clean-up activities and after the work is complete.
A main principle of this shared approach is engaging with local communities and governments, Indigenous Peoples, and other stakeholder groups to identify optimum approaches for long-term land stewardship.
Chalk River | Aug 24, 2021
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) is pleased to welcome Jason Cameron as Vice-President of Communications and Public Affairs, effective August 30, 2021.
In this newly created role of Vice-President of Communications and Public Affairs, Jason will lead on all of AECL’s communications and public affairs functions and will work to strengthen the organization’s approach to reconciliation with Indigenous groups.
For the past 23 years, Jason has worked across many areas of nuclear regulation at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), including nuclear material accountancy, international safeguards, import and export controls, and nuclear security. Most recently, Jason was the Vice-President, Regulatory Affairs and Chief Communications Officer for the CNSC. In this position, he led strategic and regulatory policy functions, including the CNSC’s approach to reconciliation, as well as their internal and external communications programs.
