Melting Permafrost and Site Conditions for Small Modular Reactor Installations in Remote Northern Canada Communities

Abstract

The paper describes the permafrost conditions of northern Canada, conditions that occur in nearly all of the remote communities or prospective mine sites that might become locations for Small Modular Reactor (SMR) power plants. It discusses four new standards that the Standards Council of Canada has prepared under the Northern Infrastructure Standardization Initiative, plus a fifth standard that is presently in the public consultation phase. These standards will no doubt be taken into account for the development of any prospective SMR project.