Dr. David Shoesmith: Safe Disposal of Canada’s High Level Nuclear Wastes | Évacuation sûre des déchets hautement radioactifs au Canada

Dr. David Shoesmith: Safe Disposal of Canada’s High Level Nuclear Wastes

Due to the need for emission-free energy generation methods, nuclear energy is again at centre-stage from a scientific and policy standpoint. Before a new generation of nuclear reactors can be built in Canada, Canadians will want reasonable assurances that nuclear wastes can be safely disposed of and stored. Research into this major environmental challenge has been underway internationally since the late 1970s. The Canadian concept involves deep geologic disposal of the wastes in a stable granite formation, coupled with a system of multiple barriers to prevent the release of radioactive chemicals. Dr. Shoesmith’s research concerns the manufactured form into which the waste fuel is incorporated, the chemical changes that will occur within it over time, as well as the corrosion performance of the metallic container – all critical components of a safe storage system. Dr. Shoesmith has been involved in research on nuclear waste disposal for 30 years and is presently the NSERC/Ontario Power Generation Industrial Research Chair in nuclear fuel disposal chemistry, at the University of Western Ontario. He also works under contract to, and as a consultant for, nuclear waste organizations in the United States of America, Sweden and Japan. He has received awards from The Electrochemical Society Inc., and The Metallurgical Society of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum for his contributions to electrochemistry and corrosion science.