On 2006 February 24, we informed our regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), of our intent to move forward with the construction of an engineered landfill that will accommodate slightly radioactive dewatered sewage sludge from our CRL operations.

Currently, sanitary sewage from CRL facilities is collected in a sanitary sewer drainage system and directed to a Sewage Treatment Plant located on the CRL site. The system collects conventional wastes, such as domestic wastewater from sinks, showers and washrooms from some 80 buildings at the site. Along with these conventional wastes, the system also collects industrial wastes, such as wastewater containing low levels of radioactive material and/or process chemicals, for example from radioisotope laboratories, CRL’s laundry facility, workshops, and equipment or process cooling water.

Wastewater collected in the sanitary sewer system is treated at the Sewage Treatment Plant. After separation of the sludge, the wastewater is chlorinated to kill any bacteria and then discharged into the Ottawa River. The sludge is then further dewatered and is temporarily stored in above-ground containers at CRL’s Waste Management Area C until the new landfill is available.

The resulting dewatered sewage sludge waste meets all Ontario Ministry of the Environment regulations for non-hazardous criteria, except for radioactivity. Accordingly, the new landfill, which will be built on CRL property and funded through AECL’s operational budget, will be designed in compliance with the applicable Ontario Ministry of the Environment regulations for non-hazardous waste.

In preparation for the project, AECL has carried out a radiological safety assessment to evaluate the potential exposures to both workers who will be handling the dewatered sewage sludge during landfill emplacement and to nearby residents. The results of the assessment show that the potential radiation doses associated with the low levels of radioactivity in the dewatered sludge are well below the radiological health protection criteria of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Basic Safety Standards.

The CNSC is currently reviewing our project and will determine the approvals required for the project to proceed.