On November 16, members of the Durham Nuclear Health Committee received an update on what has been a very productive construction season for the Port Granby Project. Mark Galanter, Manager of Port Granby Construction & Remediation, delivered the status update to the Committee at Durham Regional Headquarters in Whitby.
During this year’s update, the committee learned that more waste than originally anticipated is being discovered and moved away from the legacy waste management facility on the shoreline of Lake Ontario for long-term, safe storage in the new engineered aboveground mound being built about 700 metres north of the legacy site.
“After more than a year of excavation and monitoring, we are encountering additional waste at the site,” said Galanter. “This means that we need to dig deeper to remove all of the impacted soil, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. We have had very strong production this year and we are on track to safely competing the job on schedule as we restore the land.”
Excavation of all of the historic low-level radioactive waste is expected to be complete in 2019, followed by capping of the engineered mound. Galanter explained that the mound is being built with contingency space for the additional waste, and that its stability and final drumlin shape will not be affected.
With respect to the project schedule, the committee heard that construction will be complete by 2021, after soil sampling confirms that the contaminants have been removed from the shoreline site. “Long-term monitoring and maintenance of the facility will continue for hundreds of years,” added Galanter.
Established by Durham Regional Council in 1995, the Durham Nuclear Health Committee acts as a forum for discussing health and safety at nuclear facilities in the Durham Region. At the committee’s request, CNL provides an annual update on the Port Granby Project.
As part of a comprehensive Public Information Program, CNL responds to requests for project updates from local groups and committees with an interest in the Port Hope Area Initiative.
