NWMO says ancient groundwater at Revell supports its safety case, but sampling was limited and federal review continues
The proponent says limited borehole samples support its safety case, but the finding is not a regulatory approval and deeper sampling was sparse
IGNACE — The Nuclear Waste Management Organization says groundwater recovered from deep rock at the proposed Revell nuclear-waste repository site is millions of years old, a result it argues supports the case that water moves very slowly through the rock formation.
The finding comes from borehole work at the Revell Batholith, between Ignace and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation, where the NWMO proposes to build Canada’s deep geological repository for used nuclear fuel.
The available sampling was limited. A regional report based on an NWMO technical briefing said researchers obtained seven water samples, most from above 150 metres and only two from below that depth. The planned repository would be built much deeper, hundreds of metres underground.
The NWMO’s interpretation is that very old water and the difficulty of extracting samples indicate little groundwater movement through the rock. The organization says those conditions, together with the stability of the Canadian Shield, add confidence that the site can isolate used fuel over the long term.
That conclusion remains a proponent claim to be tested through the federal assessment and licensing process. It is not a finding by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission or the independent review panel, and the small number and depth distribution of the samples limit what can be concluded from the new public summary alone.
Water is one of the central issues in the assessment. Federal review documents identify geology, hydrogeology, surface water, groundwater, accidents and potential radiological releases among the matters that require detailed study. Public and Indigenous submissions have also raised questions about watersheds, transportation, consultation and the scope of the assessment.
The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada referred the integrated assessment to an independent review panel in March because the project includes activities regulated under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act. The NWMO has said construction would proceed only after required regulatory decisions.
The repository project is still in the impact-statement and review process. Additional site characterization, technical disclosure and independent scrutiny will be needed before the groundwater evidence can be weighed against the complete safety case.
