The Douglas Point Waste Facility, located at the Bruce Nuclear Site, is currently in the process of being decommissioned.
Mayor Luke Charbonneau says the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories provided Saugeen Shores council an update on its progression.
“It’s not the kind of project that happens overnight, or even over a decade. It’s a very long term project, and the work is going to continue out there until finally, several years from now, they’ll have the whole thing decommissioned and the waste stored safely,” said Charbonneau.
Charbonneau says the decommissioning is a massive project, and the town is ready to support workers however it can.
“Saugeen Shores is well positioned to accommodate workers who may be coming to our community to work on decommissioning Douglas Point, just like we are always well positioned to welcome anybody coming to work at the Bruce Nuclear Site,” he added.
Charbonneau says the town has been there from the beginning, and will support the process until the end.
“It’s actually interesting talking about the decommissioning of Douglas Point because it was the original construction of Douglas Point that really sparked the major boom in population and our local economy that has been going on for the past 50 to 60 years,” said Charbonneau. “It has generated work and economic development ever since then, and it’s going to continue to do that throughout its decommissioning.”
The decommissioning process began in 2020. The final dismantling of the non-nuclear buildings is expected to be completed around 2024, but the decommissioning of the reactor and reactor building won’t begin until after 2030. The entire process is projected to take until the year 2070.