A PROJECT OF GREAT CONCERN: CHALK RIVER’S PROPOSED NUCLEAR WASTE SITE

CAPE opposes the proposed Chalk River nuclear waste site, citing risks of water contamination, seismic instability, and inadequate containment measures for waste that remains radioactive for thousands of years.

• The proposed nuclear waste site at Chalk River would be the largest in the world, covering 11 hectares and reaching 25 meters in height to hold one million cubic meters of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste.
• The site's location in a swamp on the banks of the Ottawa River poses a risk of contaminating drinking water for municipalities in Quebec and Ontario, particularly as tritium would be released into the river.
• The facility is located in the seismic zone of western Quebec, where Natural Resources Canada reports a small earthquake occurs on average every five days, with some reaching magnitude 6 on the Richter scale.
• CAPE identifies several technical failures in the design, including the use of non-waterproof plastic 'geomembranes' instead of concrete enclosures and a monitoring period that ends in 2100 despite waste remaining radioactive for thousands of years.
• The site is intended to store waste accumulated over 50 years of operation at Chalk River CNL, waste transported from across Canada, and mixed waste containing mercury, arsenic, and PCBs.

APA

Notebaert, É. (2017). A PROJECT OF GREAT CONCERN: CHALK RIVER’S PROPOSED NUCLEAR WASTE SITE. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. https://cape.ca/chalk-river-un-projet-tres-inquietant-a-project-of-great-concern/

Chicago

Notebaert, Éric. A PROJECT OF GREAT CONCERN: CHALK RIVER’S PROPOSED NUCLEAR WASTE SITE. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, 2017. https://cape.ca/chalk-river-un-projet-tres-inquietant-a-project-of-great-concern/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Notebaert |first1=Éric |title=A PROJECT OF GREAT CONCERN: CHALK RIVER’S PROPOSED NUCLEAR WASTE SITE |publisher=Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |date=17 May 2017 |url=https://cape.ca/chalk-river-un-projet-tres-inquietant-a-project-of-great-concern/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{notebaert2017project, author = {Notebaert, Éric}, title = {{A PROJECT OF GREAT CONCERN: CHALK RIVER’S PROPOSED NUCLEAR WASTE SITE}}, publisher = {Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}, year = {2017}, month = may, url = {https://cape.ca/chalk-river-un-projet-tres-inquietant-a-project-of-great-concern/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }