Fuel for thought: what Gentilly-1 teaches us about nuclear power

Canada is decommissioning its first nuclear power reactor: Gentilly-1 in Quebec. This is a decades-long, multi-million-dollar process that will set the precedent for how other facilities are eventually dismantled, including NB Power’s Point Lepreau reactor. The approach taken at Gentilly is of national importance, especially for New Brunswickers, who must pay close attention.

Shockingly, the public has only just learned that, in what would appear to be a breach of regulation, the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) consortium secretly transported high-level radioactive waste from Gentilly-1 (G-1) to Chalk River, Ontario, without proper public engagement and Indigenous consultation. Despite the operation’s scale and importance, no clear public statement has been made by CNL to mark the start of these activities.

In recent months, multiple truck shipments have been quietly transporting irradiated fuel from the G-1 reactor in Bécancour, Quebec, to Chalk River, Ontario — proceeding without public notice, meaningful consultation or transparency. The CNL consortium did not secure the “Free, Prior and Informed Consent” of Indigenous communities, as required under Article 29.2 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), before transporting the spent nuclear fuel.

According to CNL spokesperson Alexandra Riopelle, 2,985 fuel bundles were slated for transfer — containing 62.8 tonnes of uranium and occupying a volume of 12.1 cubic metres. CNL has refused to disclose how many convoys have taken place or the specific routes used, raising serious concerns about public safety, environmental risk, and lack of accountability. Research has found no mention of how much Canadians have had to pay the consortium for this operation.

G-1 was an experimental nuclear reactor built on the south bank of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec on the traditional and unceded territory of the Abenaki people, the Wabanaki Confederacy, and the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat.

As a prototype boiling water reactor, G-1 was designed to test a new type of Canadian nuclear technology and eventually supply electricity. In the end, the reactor operated for a total of 183 effective full-power days — the equivalent of six months at full power, which fell drastically short of its expected performance. It is now permanently shut down, partially decommissioned and licensed as a waste facility.

Today, its management lies in the hands of CNL — a for-profit, private-sector consortium led by Canada’s AtkinsRéalis and two American companies. The CNL management is scheduled to be run entirely by U.S. firms starting in September. This troubling arrangement raises serious concerns about Canada’s sovereignty over its own nuclear legacy. It is especially worrying when decisions affecting our environment and public health are made by foreign interests.

A research project of this magnitude will cost Canadian taxpayers — from approval through construction, operation, shutdown, and decommissioning — more than $1billion, though this remains a rough estimate, as the authorities involved have never publicly disclosed the full cost.

In the first phase of decommissioning, completed in 1986, the reactor and major radioactive components were sealed off and a monitoring system installed. After this costly and short-lived experiment, the most enduring legacy of the G-1 reactor is the high-level radioactive waste left behind. This material, laced with dozens of radioactive elements including toxic gases, will remain hazardous to life for hundreds of thousands of years.

The second phase of the decommissioning would involve moving radioactive material into long-term “safe storage” and dismantling the reactor’s remaining radioactive and structural components. CNL plans to store the waste at its Chalk River Laboratories site — located on the Ottawa River upstream from the capital — since Canada still lacks a permanent disposal solution. Authorization for this phase is pending and is not expected before summer 2026.

However, on July 4, 2025, CNL announced the completion of the transfer of all used nuclear fuel from G-1, describing it as “preliminary work to prepare for the decommissioning of the site.” Moreover, CNL’s claim that municipalities and Indigenous peoples were fully informed about these shipments is false. For instance, the Kebaowek First Nation — a member of the Algonquin Nation whose ancestral land includes the Chalk River site — was completely taken by surprise by the import of G-1 high-level radioactive waste onto their territory, without the full, prior, and informed consent required by law.

Chief Lance Haymond of Kebaowek Nation confirmed that they were unaware of the transfer and never consented to it. The Kebaowek Nation have publicly opposed radioactive waste disposal and nuclear development at Chalk River, highlighting violations of their rights and responsibilities as Algonquin people, and raising serious concerns about potential harm to the Kichi Sibi (Ottawa River) flowing through their lands.

According to Gordon Edwards, president of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility (CCNR), 46 of the 2,985 fuel bundles transported to Chalk River were damaged. The damage primarily resulted from broken endplate welds — the circular plates welded to each end of the cylindrical fuel bundles. Past studies of cracked endplates from the Darlington reactor on Lake Ontario detected plutonium, americium, and curium on the exterior surface of the bundle, indicating partial leakage of these highly radioactive and toxic materials from the used fuel near the damaged areas.

This secretive operation exposed the public and Indigenous groups — who were neither consulted nor gave their consent — to serious risks, given the severe consequences that a transportation accident involving radioactive waste could cause. The greatest concern is contamination of groundwater or major water sources like Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers, which supply drinking water to millions and pose irreversible threats to ecosystems and public health.

All used nuclear fuel from the G-1 reactor is now stored at Chalk River Laboratories, where it will remain indefinitely unless the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) establishes a permanent high-level waste disposal facility — a project that faces significant obstacles and may never come to fruition. In the meantime, CNL is concentrating federally-owned radioactive waste from Quebec, Manitoba, and Ontario at Chalk River.

This is not a permanent solution. The waste cannot remain at Chalk River indefinitely and will eventually need to be transported again — adding further public cost and risk. No permanent facility exists for this highly radiotoxic material, which will continue to pose a threat for millennia.

What Gentilly-1 teaches us is that nuclear power is a poor investment for our communities. It is highly unreliable — many reactors operating only a fraction of their expected lifespan due to persistent technical failures, with some, like G-1, never even delivering power to the grid. It is also extremely expensive, takes more than a decade to build, and produces radioactive waste that remains hazardous for hundreds of thousands of years.

What’s more, the secretive transport of radioactive waste from G-1 without proper consultation reveals a serious failure of responsibility and transparency. As Point Lepreau faces eventual dismantling, New Brunswickers must not stay silent. Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission have shown unacceptable disregard for due process, Indigenous rights, and public safety. Our regulator must uphold its duty to protect “the health, safety and security of all people in Canada and its environment through independent, transparent and efficient regulatory oversight of Canada’s nuclear sector.”

We owe it to ourselves, our neighbours, and future generations to demand — at the very least — a decommissioning process that is transparent and just, recognizing that true safety can never be guaranteed.

Mayara Gonçalves e Lima works with the Passamaquoddy Recognition Group Inc., focusing on nuclear energy. Their work combines environmental advocacy with efforts to ensure that the voice of the Passamaquoddy Nation is heard and respected in decisions that impact their land, waters, and future.