TORONTO — The Nuclear Waste Management Organization says Switzerland's selection of an underground site for storing used nuclear fuel is the latest "milestone....in a year of significant international momentum for nuclear repository projects."
According to NWMO, Switzerland's National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra) has chosen a location north of Zurich.
Nagra is expected to submit its licence applications to the Swiss government in 2024.
It will take at least another 30 years before the deep geological repository goes into operation.
NWMO President and CEO Laurie Swami said "Deep geological storage is no longer a theoretical approach; today, it is now very much a reality, with projects moving forward in several countries."
These countries include Finland, Sweden and France.
"There is international scientific consensus," Swami said, "that a deep geological repository is the safest method to ensure the safe, long-term storage of used nuclear fuel."
NWMO has a working relationship with its Swiss counterpart as well as with other nuclear waste organizations around the world.
It has conducted joint research at underground laboratories in Switzerland, including testing and demonstrating the behaviour of engineered barriers as well as subterranean rock.
Founded in 2002, NWMO now plans to select a site for storing Canada's nuclear waste by 2024.
Two locations remain under consideration – the Ignace/Wabigoon Lake Ojibway First Nation area in Northwestern Ontario and the South Bruce/Saugeen Ojibway Nation area in Southern Ontario.
Construction of the repository is projected to begin in 2033, but it won't become operational until the early 2040s.
