OSPE - The Voice - Summer 2013 - (Page 22)

AdVoCACy In ACtIon WhY ThROW IT AWAY? OSPE-PEO policy forum explores ways to harness energy from nuclear spent fuel Right now, Canada has plans to store the waste generated from CANDu reactors in deep geological repositories, where it will remain radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years. In April OSPE joined with Professional Engineers Ontario to co-host a policy forum exploring Canadian prospects for the use of fast neutron reactors (fNRs), which can harness energy from nuclear spent fuel to generate carbon-free power, while also reducing the radioactive life of waste to about 300 years. Sean Russell, Director, Repository Research & Development, Nuclear Waste Management Organization 2 2 TheVoice fall 2012 Several countries including China, India, Russia and the United States are now developing commercial FNRs. Canada, however, continues to shy away from spent fuel recycling. “With a price tag of about $1.5 billion for even a small reactor, it’s not surprising that this technology has not been quick to catch on in Canada,” said Paul Acchione, P.Eng., President and Chair of OSPE and Chair of OSPE’s Energy Task Force. “As engineers, we have the expertise to ensure that our governments make informed decisions, and the nuclear sector is a prime example.” Moderated by Dr. Jatin Nathwani, University of Waterloo professor and Ontario Research Chair in Public Policy for Sustainable Energy, the forum provided an overview of existing waste management plans in Ontario and the unique properties of CANDU spent fuel. Dr. Peter Ottensmeyer and Eric Jelinski, both from the University of Toronto, made the case for the productive use of spent fuel via fast neutron technology. Bruce Power’s Vice-President of Nuclear Oversight and Regulatory Affairs, Frank Saunders, delivered the forum’s keynote address. Mr. Saunders focused on public concern over the effective management of spent fuel as one of the greatest challenges facing Canada’s nuclear sector today. Should Canada play a role in FNR research and development? Should Canada purchase FNRs and begin to develop its skills and capabilities in this area? Would it be best for Canada to continue to store spent nuclear fuel? Keep the discussion going via OSPE’s LinkedIn group or by sending your comments to advocacy@ ospe.on.ca. As a benefit of membership, OSPE members can view presentations from this and other OSPE Policy Series events by logging in at www.ospe.on.ca. http://www.ospe.on.ca

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of OSPE - The Voice - Summer 2013

OSPE - The Voice - Summer 2013
Contents
Viewpoint
Newsbytes
Anne Sado, P.Eng.
National Engineering Month Ontario 2013
Engaging Tomorrow’s Engineers
Student Ambassador Profile
Innovation
The OSPE Research and Innovation Guide
The Advocacy Agenda
Maintaining and Expanding Our Engineering Capability
Engineers as Leaders
Why Throw It Away?
Connecting with Queen’s Park
Can We Engineer Better Drivers?
Insuring Your Work
Closing the Gap
Bridging the Gap
Learn, Develop, Grow Your Career
Grow Your Engineering Team

OSPE - The Voice - Summer 2013