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WASTE:
Nuclear Waste
Canada
uses nuclear
reactors to produce
approximately
12% of this country’s
energy. An inevitable
byproduct of
the process is
spent fuel, the
most common form
of nuclear waste.
 Radioactive
waste is also
generated by
uranium mining
and milling,
fuel enrichment,
decontamination
and decommissioning
of nuclear facilities
and other activities
using isotopes,
such as scientific
research.18
Nuclear
waste is a major
threat to human
health and the
environment,
and poses a difficult
disposal problem.
As of 1992, Canada
had accumulated
over 200 million
tonnes of low-level
radioactive tailings
from uranium
mining, over
one million cubic
metres of contaminated
soil and 900,000
bundles of nuclear
fuel wastes.19
The
dilemma about
how to properly
dispose of nuclear
waste continues
to plague Canada’s
nuclear industry.
According to
Environment Canada,
“true walkaway
disposal methods
are unlikely
to be possible,
given the long
time periods
(a minimum of
250,000 years)
for which the
longer-lived
radionuclides
would have to
be isolated from
the soil, air,
and water.”20
Canada’s
OECD Ranking
Canada generates
far more nuclear
waste than any
other OECD nation
on a per capita
basis, placing
us 28th out of
28. Canada generates
49.3 kg of nuclear
waste per 1000
inhabitants.
The
total amount
of nuclear waste
generated in
Canada in 1998
was 1,510 tonnes,
almost seven
times the OECD
average, and
second only to
the United States.
Twelve
OECD nations
reported zero
nuclear waste:
Australia, Austria,
Denmark, Greece,
Iceland, Ireland,
Italy, Luxembourg,
New Zealand,
Norway, Portugal
and Turkey.
Trend
Annual production
of nuclear waste
in Canada grew
76% between 1982
and 1998. Although
the United States
currently generates
a greater total
of nuclear waste,
Canada is expected
to surpass the
U.S. in terms
of total nuclear
waste by the
year 2010.21
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