2 potential nuclear fuel storage sites ruled out

TORONTO — Waste management authorities have ruled out one part of northern Ontario as a suitable site for a bunker to store used, but highly radioactive, nuclear-reactor fuel rods.

In a statement, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization said the Elliot Lake and Blind River area between the cities of Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie are out of the running.

“Technical studies and engagement with people in the area identified a number of factors that would pose challenges in siting a repository,” the organization said. “These include complexities associated with the geology, limited access and rugged terrain, and low potential to develop the breadth of partnerships needed to implement the project.”

Three other communities in northern Ontario remain as potential sites: Ignace about 250 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, Manitouwadge, about 395 kilometres east of Thunder Bay, and Hornepayne, about 480 kilometres east of Thunder Bay.

The other two remaining potential sites — South Bruce and Huron-Kinloss — are close to the Bruce nuclear reactor on the Lake Huron shoreline near Kincardine, site of a long and ongoing battle by Ontario Power Generation to win approval for a deep geologic repository for low and intermediate level radioactive waste.

The hunt for a place to permanently store used nuclear fuel rods began in earnest in 2010, with 22 communities expressing interest.