Making Conceptual Design Choices For A Long-Term Waste Management Facility - Environmental Impact vs. Environmental Performance

In 1982 the Government of Canada established the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Office (LLRWMO) with a mandate that includes resolving historic low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) problems across the country. Historic wastes are defined as those wastes for which the original producer can no longer reasonably be held responsible and which the federal government has accepted responsibility. A variety of sites contaminated with LLRW materials have been identified across Canada. Many of these sites, associated with former radium and uranium refining and processing operations, are located in urbanized areas of Southern Ontario. However, other sites have also been discovered at more remote locations in Canada, including northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories. The diversity of waste forms, ranging from pitchblende ore and residual processing wastes, to mixed contaminated soils and construction debris, present ongoing challenges for the LLRWMO to overcome in meeting its mandate to resolve these historic waste problems. (authors)