30,000 shipments of nuclear waste would move through Ontario cities, farmland under draft plan

A proposed transportation plan by Canada's nuclear industry would see up to 30,000 shipments of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel rods travel through some of Ontario's most densely populated communities over four decades, starting in the 2040s.

Under the proposed plan from the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), fuel rods would be shipped by road and/or rail from reactor sites and interim storage facilities in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and New Brunswick, destined for either South Bruce or Ignace in Ontario.

Currently, scientists are studying the ancient bedrock below both communities to determine whether the geology is right for a deep geologic repository, a $23-billion crypt as deep as the CN Tower is tall, in which Canada could seal away its entire stockpile of nuclear waste for eons. 

The selection of a site is expected in 2023. Once chosen, the host community would start to receive up to 30,000 shipments of nuclear waste over four decades, which translates into an average of 654 shipments per year or almost two shipments per day.

For the rest of the province, it would mean the radioactive cargo could potentially travel along rail routes, 400 series highways or even city streets as the fuel rods make their way to their final resting place. 

"We're confident we can safely transport used nuclear fuel," said Caitlin Burley, the NWMO's manager of transportation engagement.

She said the likelihood of an accidental radiation release, particularly in the event of a crash, while the waste is being transported through cities or some of the province's most productive farmland depends largely on the safety of the containers in which the spent fuel rods are being transported. 

Burley said the containers have been extensively tested according to international standards. Vintage films of such tests can be easily found online, in which nuclear shipping containers are dropped, immersed in water, punctured, rammed with a speeding locomotive or even set ablaze using propane and jet fuel.

"All of them occur consecutively on the same package to inflict maximum damage," she said. 

Burley said that in all of the tests, the containers successfully shielded the outside environment from nuclear radiation, and noted that in almost 60 years of transporting used nuclear fuel, there has never been an incident in which people or the environment have been harmed. 

Transportation of radioactive waste is regulated by Transport Canada and the Canada Nuclear Safety Commission.

CBC News reached out to both for comment Monday and has yet to receive a response.

Final approval of the plan would rest with the federal government. 

Shipments will also have a security detail, and will be monitored by satellite and in constant communication with a 24-hour command centre to ensure the radioactive material isn't captured by criminals or terrorists.