Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program

The Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program was established in 2006 by the Government of Canada to implement a long-term decommissioning strategy over a 70-year period. Since 2006, the strategy has continued to be refined. Refining and advancing the strategy based on new information, learning, technological advances and emerging priorities will continue... to be a focus throughout the entire NLLP timeframe. The 70-year decommissioning time frame reflects two key factors: Chalk River Laboratories, the site with the majority (approximately 65%) of the legacy liabilities, is a fully operational, multi-mission research laboratory. This means that decommissioning must take place while the site continues to function at full capacity. This adds significantly to the complexity and influences the pace of NLLP activities. The timeframe also recognizes that a range of waste management facilities must be built in order to fully implement the strategy. The Program's requirements for waste analysis, treatment, and long-term management will need to be determined, and the necessary facilities will need to be designed and constructed to effectively manage the various types of legacy waste. Since the NLLP was established, liabilities and risks have been reduced through decommissioning and site remediation projects and new facilities have been established to analyze, process and store radioactive waste. The Program is also delivering on commitments made by the Prime Minister at Nuclear Security Summits in 2010 and 2012 to cooperate with the United States to repatriate highly-enriched uranium materials. To date, the Government of Canada has invested $959 million over 8 years to address health, safety and environmental priorities, accelerated the decommissioning of disused nuclear facilities and associated infrastructure, improve the management of legacy radioactive waste, and advance the long-term strategy. For specific information on some of the work that the NLLP has accomplished, please see Projects & Activities.Read More