Canada approves nuclear waste plan.

The federal government has determined Canada's long-term future strategy for managing all of Canada's nuclear fuel wastes. Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn announced that the government accepted the recommendations of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) to adopt the Adaptive Phased Management. This plan provides for a combination of strategies, including onsite wet and dry storage over the short term followed by isolation and containment deep within the earth for the long term. The plan ensures that at all stages of nuclear fuel waste can be monitored and retrieved. The NWMO will now begin to design a site selection process in consultation with Canadian citizens.

The federal government indicated the importance of nuclear energy to Canada, noting that it is a clean source of energy providing more than 15 percent of the country's electricity--more than 50 percent in Ontario alone. The approval concludes the first step required by the Nuclear Fuel Waste Act of 2002. This Act provided for the formation of the NWMO and required it to make recommendations to the federal government within three years. The NWMO was required to study three technologies--deep geological disposal, onsite storage at nuclear power stations, and centralized storage, either above or below ground. The NWMO's preferred strategy of Adaptive Phased Management combines all three technologies.

Natural Resources Canada