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.