WHITESHELL CONTACT
Fall 2014 • Volume 3, Issue 2
In this issue of CONTACT
A BIG IDEA FOR CANADA
Bob Walker, President and CEO
On November 3, Atomic Energy of Canada
Limited (AECL), proudly launched a whollyowned subsidiary named Canadian Nuclear
Laboratories (CNL). This is a major milestone in
the restructuring of AECL that will ultimately
revitalize Canada’s premier nuclear science and
technology organization. Organizations evolve
and change to be successful. AECL has been
an active participant in a restructuring process,
which the Government of Canada initiated in
2009. This process will establish the conditions
for Canada’s nuclear industry to succeed, and
over time reduce costs and financial risks to
taxpayers. The final result will be a Government-Owned Contractor-Operated (GoCo)
organization. Throughout the restructuring
process the Government has acknowledged
that there is important work in both science
and technology (S&T), and decommissioning
and waste management that will continue
over the long term.
READ MORE ON PAGE 2
PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES
UNDERGROUND RESEARCH LABORATORY SITE TO BE
RETURNED TO MANITOBANS
Located within 2,650 million year old Canadian Shield granite in Lac
du Bonnet, Manitoba, is Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) former
Underground Research Laboratory (URL). Established in 1982, the
laboratory provided groundbreaking research and development along
with international partnerships and collaborations for over 25 years.
It was the first underground laboratory dedicated to researching the
geological disposal of nuclear fuel waste to be constructed in a previously
undisturbed site.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
1
Plain Talk
A big idea for Canada
to be selected in 2015 by the
Government of Canada.
Bob Walker
President and CEO
A
lthough CNL is a new company,
it stands on the shoulders of a
company with a proud history built
over six decades of cutting edge
nuclear science and technology.
Our business under the new CNL
moniker will essentially remain
the same, except with greater
opportunities for investment and
growth.
The creation of CNL as a whollyowned subsidiary of AECL
represents an important step for
the evolution of the organization,
which will eventually be owned
by a GoCo contractor. AECL will
remain a small Crown corporation
focused on the management
and oversight of this contract.
The GoCo contractor is expected
2
So what is CNL’s mission going
forward? The Government
has committed to addressing
the legacy liabilities from the
development of our nuclear
technology and has given CNL
a clear mandate to do so. Our
decommissioning and waste
management (DWM) business
is a product of this obligation. It
is important, high-technology
work requiring skilled employees.
Simply put, the DWM field is big
business for CNL, nationally and
internationally. This field represents
great opportunities for technology
development and innovation to
successfully complete the needed
work.
The Government has also
decided that CNL will have a
strong S&T mission serving both
the Government and industry.
There is an ongoing need for CNL
to provide S&T work towards
supporting core government roles
and responsibilities and as well as
providing S&T services to industry
on a commercial basis.
To provide services to all three
missions is an exciting path
forward for the Canadian Nuclear
Laboratories.
What does a successful
restructuring of the organization
into the GoCo model mean for
CNL? Exciting work, modern
facilities and a clear vision. These
are essential ingredients to
attract and retain a highly skilled
workforce over the decades to
come. The GoCo model has been
proven in other jurisdictions to
excel in this regard and we have
the opportunity to make it work
here in Canada.
As restructuring progresses,
CNL will carry on advancing
our important nuclear safety
and security, and science and
technology work with a businessas-usual outlook. Ensuring that
CNL continues to have safe and
secure operations and remains
responsible stewards of the
environment is of utmost priority
to me and the employees of CNL.
Going forward, there are always
some risks and uncertainties with
change, however the stage is
set for Canada’s national nuclear
laboratory to succeed in all its
missions.
W
elcome to the fifth edition of
CONTACT and the first from
our new organization ‘Canadian
Nuclear Laboratories’.
To learn more on the restructuring
of AECL please visit our dedicated
webpage. http://www.cnl.ca/en/
home/about/Restructuring.aspx
As President Bob Walker has
remarked: it is business as usual
at Whiteshell Laboratories.
However, he also pointed out
AECL is undergoing a restructuring
process whereby in the future a
private company will take over the
management of the Whiteshell
Laboratories. You may be
wondering how this future change
will affect the decommissioning
plan and activities at the
Laboratories.
Some other exciting news I’d
like to bring to your attention. I
am pleased to announce the
appointment of Craig Michaluk
in an acting capacity as General
Manager, Whiteshell Laboratories
Decommissioning Project and
Site Head. Craig, who calls Pinawa
his home, brings a wealth of
experience and knowledge to the
position. His background with
Manitoba Hydro and over 5 years
experience at the Whiteshell Site
puts him in good stead for the
responsibility.
The objective of decommissioning
the Whiteshell Laboratories
does not change under the
future AECL restructuring
activities, and the Government
of Canada will continue to be
responsible for the liabilities and
funding the work. However, the
restructured company, under
the management of the private
contractor, could revisit the
strategic decommissioning plan
to capitalize on newly identified
opportunities for efficiencies, and
where appropriate, advance the
schedule for completing the work
at Whiteshell.
Joan Miller
Vice President Decommissioning
and Waste Management
Finally, I would like to point you
to our new and improved Nuclear
Legacy Liabilities Program website.
On this revamped site you can
find factsheets, frequently asked
question, timelines and general
information on our projects
and activities related to AECL’s
Whiteshell Site. It is our goal to
regularly update this website with
accomplishments and to keep an
archive of publications such as
this. I encourage you to check out
the site and offer us your feedback
using the site’s feedback form.
www.nuclearlegacyprogram.ca
3
In the Community
Whiteshell Employee Selected to Attend
World Nuclear University Summer Institute
W
hiteshell Laboratories very
own Deni Priyanto
Putro, was chosen to
attend this year’s
World Nuclear
University (WNU)
Summer Institute.
Deni is a Geological
Engineer with
the Waste Disposal
Technology Branch. He
and three Chalk River employees
were selected by an independent
international committee, to
participate in the six-week program
held from July 5th to August 16th,
2014, in Oxford, United Kingdom.
During this six week fellowship,
Deni and his colleagues had the
opportunity to learn from
some of the foremost scientific experts on a broad
range of nuclear energy
issues, and participated in
leadership and team building exercises.
The World Nuclear University
was formed in 2003 from partnerships between leading world
institutions of nuclear education
and research. It is supported by
the World Nuclear Association, the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Nuclear
Energy Agency, the World Association of Nuclear Operators, and
the International Atomic Energy
Agency. The Summer Institute
is one of WNU’s many programs
designed to promote learning and
leadership in the peaceful applications of nuclear technology.
“It was a great experience, where I
had a chance to interact and learn
from some of the world leaders in
geological engineering and waste
disposal technology ,” said Deni
upon his return. “I look forward
to applying and sharing some
of this new knowledge with my
colleagues here at the Whiteshell
Laboratories.”!
NLLP launches redesigned website
If you are a regular visitor to the Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program (NLLP) website you may have noticed a significant
change over the past couple months. The website has gone through a major overhaul as part of the program’s continued
commitment to maintain and strengthen channels of communication with its audiences.
The new and improved website helps the NLLP to continue to educate on the basics and complexities of nuclear decommissioning, environmental remediation and radioactive waste management. The site aims to provide meaningful, user-friendly
information so that our communities and stakeholders have accessible and current information on the NLLP.
The overarching goal of the website is to demonstrate the Government of Canada’s long-term commitment and its approach
to safely and cost-effectively reduce Canada’s nuclear legacy liabilities and associated risks. To this end the site contains a
wealth of information which includes factsheets, timelines and FAQs outlining many of the activities and projects that the
program is undertaking. As new projects and activities come online or are completed the site will be updated in a timely
manner to reflect the continued progress of the program.
All are encouraged to check out and share the new website, feedback and suggestion are welcome.
http://www.nuclearlegacyprogram.ca/
4
Projects & Activities
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Underground Research Laboratory
Site to be Returned to Manitobans
The Laboratory was constructed to
provide a representative geological
setting for conducting research and
development activities in support
of the Canadian Nuclear Fuel Waste
Management Program.
Closure of the URL is managed
through the Nuclear Legacy
Liabilities Program, funded by
Natural Resources Canada. All
underground experiments,
tunnels and shafts have been
decommissioned, and all materials
and furnishings removed and
brought to the surface for storage
or recycling. There is no radioactive
materials at the URL site.
When it operated, the URL was
accessible via a vertical access shaft
to a depth of 443 m. This research
facility contained major testing
levels at depths of 240 m and 420
m – each having several hundred
metres of tunnels and multiple
test rooms. Bored ventilation
shafts connected the levels to the
surface and a propane-heated
ventilation system provided yearround temperature control of all
underground excavations. The
comprehensive multidisciplinary
work conducted by staff at URL
will be remembered long after
the closure of the facility. Through
Nuclear Waste Management
Organization’s work, URL’s many
lessons and findings will be applied
to manage Canada’s spent nuclear
fuels for centuries to come.
As part of the decommissioning
activities, a large engineered seal
constructed of high-strength
concrete bulkheads sandwiching a
dense clay layer was used to ensure
that deep saline groundwater
never mixes with fresher water
at shallower depths. Monitoring
of the performance of this seal
is a final experiment funded by
the Nuclear Waste Management
Organization and nuclear
management organizations from
Finland, France and Sweden, and
will provide information on the
performance of an engineered
seal in a repository application.
The underground portion of the
URL was permanently sealed
in 2010. Ground monitoring
of the site has discovered soil
contaminated with hydrocarbons
localized under a building where
diesel generators operated. Once
the building is decommissioned,
hydrocarbon contamination will
be removed from the soils. Also,
as part of site surface remediation,
an environmental assessment was
conducted along the URL holding
pond discharge path. Results from
the assessment confirmed very
little risk to the environment and
CNL received approval from the
Province of Manitoba to leave the
discharge path “as is”. The Province
also approved the Holding Pond
Remedial Action Plan which will
see the clean-up of the pond.
This year CNL is continuing with
its objective to restore the URL site
to its natural condition and return
leased lands to the Province and
Crown. The scope of work includes
completing the closure plan to
take URL surface buildings to a
final end-state, which includes final
decommissioning and removal of
the structures and remediation
of the site. The site will be left
in a state comparable to the
surrounding natural land.
5
Environmental Performance
2013 Environmental Performance
for the Whiteshell Laboratories
D
emonstrating the safe
operation and management of
Whiteshell Laboratories (WL) is part
of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’s
(CNL) commitment to its
communities. Our environmental
performance is an indication of our
success in the safe operation and
environmental stewardship of our
site.
As an ISO Environmental
Management Systems registered
organization, CNL is committed to
both studying and continuously
improving the low impact of our
operations on the environment.
At Whiteshell Laboratories, the
Environmental Protection Program
maintains both a comprehensive
effluent monitoring program of
airborne and liquid emissions and
an environmental monitoring
program of ambient air, surface
water, groundwater, vegetation,
soil and sediments and game
animals. More than 130 sampling
locations are used for both
programs and approximately
11,440 analyses, on a variety of
parameters, are performed each
year.
Groundwater samples are analyzed
at 52 groundwater wells across
the WL site. Periodic update
evaluations of groundwater flow
systems around various facilities at
WL are also conducted.
CNL is required as part of the
WL Decommissioning Licence,
to submit an annual report to
the Canadian Nuclear Safety
Commission (CNSC) on the results
of the Environmental Assessment
Follow-Up Program (EAFP).
Information collected through the
EAFP is used to verify the accuracy
of the Environmental Assessment
and confirm that appropriate
mitigation measures are taken.
In addition, results assist in
developing appropriate responses
to unforeseen events and identify
effects of the decommissioning
project that may not have been
predicted.
Overall, the risk to the environment
of our decommissioning activities
can be characterized as low, in
that the potential for human or
ecological impacts is low, and
overall trending indicates stable
performance.
Radiation Monitoring
Monitoring results for the calendar
year 2013 confirmed that levels of
radioactivity in the environment
outside the WL boundary due to
work at the WL site, as well as the
resulting exposures to the public,
were well below regulatory limits
and guidelines.Airborne and liquid
emissions and environmental
monitoring results are regularly
submitted to the Canadian Nuclear
6
are well below Environment
Canada’s reporting threshold of
50,000 tonnes. Greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions from WL include
CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide.
Emissions are measured in CO2
equivalent and are primarily from
combustion of oil and propane for
onsite heating.
Safety Commission (CNSC) as
confirmation that we are operating
safely. This information is also
available to the public upon
request. The 2013 targets for the
EAFP were completed.
radiological or non-radiological
spills to ground. Staff and
contractors are obligated to inspect
equipment before use and use spill
containment equipment when
appropriate.
Environmental Monitoring
“Insignificant spills” are defined as
“non-reportable with negligible
effect on the environment”,
whereas “significant spills”
(over 100 litres is reportable to
Environment Canada) would
have some negative effect on
the environment. All spills are
contained, cleaned up and
disposed of appropriately under
the direction of Environmental
Protection staff.
Efforts to prevent non-radiological
spills from occurring have been
successful as there have been no
significant spills to the ground
at WL over the last 12 years.
Environmental monitoring
results for 2013 also confirmed
that controls for the release of
potentially hazardous substances
continue to provide substantial
protection of the environment. The
types of incidents that could occur
at WL include: Halocarbon Releases
(as reported to Environment
Canada under the Federal
Halocarbon Regulations), and
Non-Radiological Emissions
WL’s average greenhouse gas
emissions of 4,260 tonnes (in
CO2 equivalent tonnes) in 2013,
Emissions of ozone depleting
substances (ODSs) are measured
in CFC-11 equivalent and include
releases of chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons
(HCFCs), and halons. CFCs and
halons are the most damaging
ODSs. CNL is working hard to find
replacement substances for CFCs
and has removed most halon from
the site.
CNL’s overall environmental
performance continues to improve.
All radiological effluents are less
than 0.01% of the regulatory limit,
as established by the CNSC.
For more about our Environmental
Performance, please go to
http://www.cnl.ca/en/home/
environmental-stewardship/
whiteshell.aspx.
What is ISO?
ISO (International Organization for
Standardization) is an independent,
non-governmental membership
organization and the world's largest
developer of voluntary International
Standards. www.iso.org
7
In the Community
Whiteshell Laboratories Employees
Give Generously to the United Way
K
nown for their generosity, WL
employees once again stepped
up to the plate during their
annual Government of Canada
Workplace Charitable Campaign
(GCWCC). Not only did they meet
their 2013 goals of $12,000 or 12%
participation, but they crushed
them by raising a grand total of
$19,275.34 with a participation rate
of 17.8%!
Funds raised were directed to a
variety of charitable organizations
including the Winnipeg United
Way, HealthPartners and a
multitude of local registered
charities, such as our local
Food Banks and Community
Foundations.
8
In addition to the annual Pledge
Drive, the WL Organizing
Committee held a series of events
including a Bake Sale & Book Sale,
E-Mail Bingo, and 50/50, Lottery
Tree and Rock-Star Parking draws.
The 3-week campaign closed
with WL’s first ever Time, Talent
& Treasure Auction thanks to
generous donations from various
employees and businesses. The
auction proved to be a great
success, so organizers hope to
make this an annual event.
The organizing committee was
doubly pleased when WL received
a GCWCC Employee Quantum
Leap Award from the United
Way. The Award was given to WL
employees for increasing their
financial contributions by 64% and
their number of donors by 89%, as
compared to 2012.
Canadian Nuclear Lab employees
have always been great supporters
of their communities and local
causes, and their dedication
as employees and community
members is a source of pride.
Thank you again Whiteshell
Laboratories Employees for your
generosity and congratulations on
receiving this Award!
FOR MORE
INFORMATION,
CONTACT:
CNL Whiteshell Laboratories
Pinawa, Manitoba R0E 1L0
Telephone: 204-753-2311
www.nuclearlegacyprogram.ca