Chalk River Laboratories

File:NRX_Pile_Building_and_ZEEP_Building-_Cooling_Tanks_1945.jpg

In 1952, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) was created by the government to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy. AECL also took over the operation of Chalk River from the NRC. Since the 1950s, AECL has operated various nuclear research reactors to produce nuclear material for medical and scientific applications. At one point, the Chalk River Laboratories produced about one-third of the world's medical isotopes and half of the North American supply. Despite the declaration of peaceful use, from 1955 to 1985, Chalk River facilities supplied about {{convert|254.2|kg}} of plutonium, in the form of spent reactor fuel, to the U.S. Department of Energy to be used in the production of nuclear weapons.{{cite web | url = http://www.ccnr.org/DOE.html | title = Canadian Plutonium Sold For American Bombs (letter from Dept. of Energy official, March 4, 1996) | access-date = 2021-12-19 | url-status=live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080628205542/http://www.ccnr.org/DOE.html | website = Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility | archive-date=2008-06-28 | df = dmy-all }} (The bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, used about {{convert|6.4|kg}} of plutonium.)

Canada's first nuclear power plant, a partnership between AECL and Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, went online in 1962 near the site of Chalk River Laboratories. This reactor, Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD), was a demonstration of the CANDU reactor design, one of the world's safest and most successful nuclear reactors.

The Deep River neutron monitor operated once in Chalk river.{{cite web |url=http://cr0.izmiran.ru/dprv/baseinfo.htm |title=DEEP RIVER Neutron Monitor Data Base |access-date=2014-11-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129081714/http://cr0.izmiran.ru/dprv/baseinfo.htm |archive-date=2014-11-29 }}

{{Main|NRX#Accident}}

Chalk River was also the site of two nuclear accidents in the 1950s. The first incident occurred on December 12, 1952, when there was a power excursion and partial loss of coolant in the NRX reactor, which resulted in significant damage to the core. The control rods could not be lowered into the core because of mechanical problems and human errors. Three rods did not reach their destination and were taken out again by accident. The fuel rods were overheated, resulting in a meltdown. Hydrogen explosions seriously damaged the reactor and the reactor building. The seal of the reactor vessel was blown up four feet, and {{convert|4500|m3|gal}} of radioactive water were found in the cellar of the building. This water was dumped in ditches around {{convert|1600|m}} from the border of the Ottawa River. During this accident, some {{convert|10|kCi|TBq|lk=on|sigfig=1}} of radioactive material was released.{{cite web | website = Canadian Nuclear Society | date = 1989 | url = http://media.cns-snc.ca/history/nrx.html | title = The NRX Incident | first1 = Peter | last1 = Jedicke | access-date = 2021-12-19 | df = dmy-all | archive-date = 2015-05-21 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150521010721/http://media.cns-snc.ca/history/nrx.html | url-status = dead }} Future U.S. president Jimmy Carter, then a U.S. Navy officer in Schenectady, New York, was part of a team of 26 men, including 13 U.S. Navy volunteers, involved in the hazardous cleanup.{{cite web|url=http://www.ccnr.org/paulson_legacy.html|title=Reactor Accidents: The Human Fallout|website=www.ccnr.org|access-date=23 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923232909/http://www.ccnr.org/paulson_legacy.html|archive-date=23 September 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carter/timeline/index.html|title=Jimmy Carter timeline|website=pbs.org|access-date=23 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329152940/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carter/timeline/index.html|archive-date=29 March 2010}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/04/05/milnes.carter.nuclear/index.html|title=Jimmy Carter's exposure to nuclear danger|website=www.cnn.com|language=en|access-date=2019-06-18}} 14 months later the reactor was in use again.{{in lang|en}} The Canadian Nuclear FAQ [http://www.nuclearfaq.ca/cnf_sectionD.htm#x What are the details of the accident at Chalk River's NRX reactor in 1952?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130022641/http://www.nuclearfaq.ca/cnf_sectionD.htm |date=2009-01-30 }}

{{Main|National Research Universal reactor#History}}

The second accident, in 1958, involved a fuel rupture and fire in the National Research Universal reactor (NRU) reactor building. Some fuel rods were overheated. With a robotic crane, one of the rods with metallic uranium was pulled out of the reactor vessel. When the arm of the crane moved away from the vessel, the uranium caught fire, and the rod broke. The rod's largest part fell into the containment vessel, still burning. The whole building was contaminated. The valves of the ventilation system were opened, and a large area outside the building was contaminated. The fire was extinguished by scientists and maintenance men in protective clothing running along the hole in the containment vessel with buckets of wet sand, throwing the sand down when they passed the smoking entrance.The Canadian Nuclear FAQ [http://www.nuclearfaq.ca/cnf_sectionD.htm#nru1958 What are the details of the accident at Chalk River's NRU reactor in 1958?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130022641/http://www.nuclearfaq.ca/cnf_sectionD.htm |date=2009-01-30 }}

Both accidents required a major cleanup effort involving many civilian and military personnel. Follow-up health monitoring of these workers has not revealed any adverse impacts from the two accidents.http://www.nuclearfaq.ca/cnf_sectionD.htm#nru1958 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130022641/http://www.nuclearfaq.ca/cnf_sectionD.htm |date=2009-01-30 }} What are the details of the accident at Chalk River's NRU reactor in 1958?{{cite web|url=http://www.nuclearfaq.ca/cnf_sectionD.htm#x|title=The Canadian Nuclear FAQ - Section D: Safety and Liability|website=www.nuclearfaq.ca|access-date=23 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006022038/http://www.nuclearfaq.ca/cnf_sectionD.htm#x|archive-date=6 October 2017}} However, the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, an anti-nuclear watchdog group, notes that some cleanup workers who were part of the military contingent assigned to the NRU reactor building unsuccessfully applied for a military disability pension due to health damages.

On November 18, 2007, the NRU, which made medical radioisotopes, was shut down for routine maintenance. This shutdown was extended when AECL, in consultation with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), decided to connect seismically-qualified emergency power supplies (EPS) to two of the reactor's cooling pumps (in addition to the AC and DC backup power systems already in place), which had been required as part of its August 2006 operating licence issued by the CNSC. This resulted in a worldwide shortage of radioisotopes for medical treatments because Chalk River made the majority of the world's supply of medical radioisotopes, including two-thirds of the world's technetium-99m.[http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/highlights/2006/0605chalkriver_e.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080402220916/http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/highlights/2006/0605chalkriver_e.html|date=April 2, 2008}}

On December 11, 2007, the House of Commons of Canada, acting on independent expert advice, passed emergency legislation authorizing the restarting of the NRU reactor and its operation for 120 days (counter to the decision of the CNSC), which was passed by the Senate and received Royal Assent on December 12. Prime Minister Stephen Harper criticized the CNSC for this shutdown, which "jeopardized the health and safety of tens of thousands of Canadians", insisting that there was no risk, contrary to the testimony of then-CNSC President & CEO Linda Keen. She would later be fired for ignoring a decision by Parliament to restart the reactor, reflecting its policy that the safety of citizens requiring essential nuclear medicine should be taken into account in assessing the overall safety concerns of the reactor's operation.{{cite web|date=December 11, 2007|title=Harper accuses Liberals of blocking isotope production|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/harper-accuses-liberals-of-blocking-isotope-production/article1091566/|access-date=21 July 2020|website=The Globe and Mail}}{{Cite news |last=Ljunggren |first=David |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN1154689120071213 |title=Canadian parliament orders isotope reactor restart |journal=Reuters |date=2007-12-12 |access-date=2013-05-05 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603180453/http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN1154689120071213 |archive-date=2009-06-03 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/285210 |title=Much more at stake than medical isotopes | Toronto Star |work=Thestar.com |date=2007-12-13 |access-date=2013-05-05 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002154837/http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/285210 |archive-date=October 2, 2012 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/chalk-river-plant-to-begin-making-radioisotopes-in-a-week-1.669878 |title=Chalk River plant to begin making radioisotopes in a week - Canada - CBC News |publisher=Cbc.ca |date=2007-12-13 |access-date=2013-05-05 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926071822/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/12/13/chalk-river-reactor.html |archive-date=2010-09-26 }}{{cite web |last=Citizen |first=Ottawa |url=http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=c70b1f37-7efe-46c1-a165-8b0efd4dfcaa |title=Harper government fires Linda Keen over isotope crisis |publisher=Canada.com |date=2008-01-16 |access-date=2013-05-05 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110071829/http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=c70b1f37-7efe-46c1-a165-8b0efd4dfcaa |archive-date=2012-11-10 }}

The NRU reactor was restarted on December 16, 2007.

On December 5, 2008, heavy water containing tritium leaked from the NRU.{{cite web |url=http://www.cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca/eng/mediacentre/issues/memo_re_december_2008.cfm |title=Current Issues - CNSC Report to Minister of Natural Resources regarding recent events at National Research Universal (NRU) Reactor |publisher=Cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca |access-date=2013-05-05 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131222055045/http://www.cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca/eng/mediacentre/issues/memo_re_december_2008.cfm |archive-date=2013-12-22 }}

In its formal report to the CNSC, filed on December 9, 2008 (when the volume of leakage was determined to meet the requirement for such a report) AECL mentioned that {{convert|47|L}} of heavy water were released from the reactor, about 10% of which evaporated and the rest contained, but affirmed that the spill was not serious and did not present a threat to public health.{{cite web |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/agency-says-it-was-told-of-nuke-leak-within-hours-1.364579 |title=Agency says it was told of nuke leak within hours | CTV News |publisher=Ctv.ca |date=2009-01-27 |access-date=2013-05-05 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090604012750/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090127/radioactive_spill_090127/20090127?hub=Canada&s_name= |archive-date=2009-06-04 }} The amount that evaporated to the atmosphere is considered to be minor, accounting for less than a thousandth of the regulatory limit.{{cite web |url=http://www.aecl.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=971 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-02-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615020303/http://www.aecl.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=971 |archive-date=2009-06-15 }}

In an unrelated incident, the same reactor had been leaking {{convert|7001|L}} of light water per day from a crack in a weld of the reactor's reflector system. This water was systematically collected, purified in an on-site Waste Treatment Centre, and eventually released to the Ottawa River in accordance with CNSC, Health Canada, and Ministry of the Environment regulations. Although the leakage was not a concern to the CNSC from a health, safety or environmental perspective,{{cite web |url=http://www.cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca/eng/mediacentre/releases/news_release.cfm?news_release_id=332 |title=News Releases |publisher=Cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca |access-date=2013-05-05 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229170842/http://www.cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca/eng/mediacentre/releases/news_release.cfm?news_release_id=332 |archive-date=2012-02-29 }} AECL made plans for a repair to reduce the current leakage rate for operational reasons.

{{Main|National Research Universal reactor#2009 Shutdown|l1=National Research Universal reactor – 2009 Shutdown}}

In mid-May 2009, the heavy water leak at the base of the NRU reactor vessel, first detected in 2008 (see above), returned at a greater rate and prompted another temporary shutdown until August 2010. The lengthy shutdown was necessary to first completely defuel the entire reactor, then ascertain the full extent of the corrosion to the vessel, and finally to effect the repairs{{nbsp}}{{hyphen}}{{nbsp}}all with remote and restricted access from a minimum distance of {{convert|8|m}} due to the residual radioactivity in the reactor vessel. The 2009 shutdown occurred at a time when only one of the other four worldwide regular medical isotope sourcing reactors was producing, resulting in a worldwide shortage.[https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/patients-will-suffer-from-chalk-river-shutdown-medical-imaging-industry-1.774935 "'Patients will suffer' from Chalk River shutdown: medical imaging industry"]. CBC News, May 19, 2009

The NRU reactor licence expired in 2016. However, the licence was extended to March 31, 2018.{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/a-relic-of-canada-s-atom-age-the-nru-reactor-is-shutting-down-for-good-1.4595836|title=Canada's NRU reactor in Chalk River is being turned off for good - CBC News|website=cbc.ca|access-date=23 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409162437/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/a-relic-of-canada-s-atom-age-the-nru-reactor-is-shutting-down-for-good-1.4595836|archive-date=9 April 2018}} The reactor was shut down for the last time at 7 p.m. on March 31, 2018,{{cite web|url=http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS-Canadian-isotope-reactor-enters-retirement-0308185.html|title=Canadian isotope reactor enters retirement - World Nuclear News}} and has entered a "state of storage" before decommissioning operations which will continue for many years within the scope of future operating or decommissioning licences issued by the CNSC.

The site remains in active use as of 2024. In 2016, 1.2 billion CAD was allotted over ten years to decommission 120 old buildings and build new ones.{{Cite conference|last=Huffman |first=Allison |date=1 July 2019 |title=Canadian Nuclear Laboratories: An Asset Management Journey - 19438 |url=https://www.osti.gov/biblio/23005335 |journal= |osti=23005335 |language=English |via=OSTI.GOV}}{{Cite journal |last=Moore |first=M. A |date=2019 |title=Modern Integrated Decommissioning at Chalk River Laboratories - 19401 |journal=WM Symposia |via=OMNI}} The new buildings were completed starting in 2020, as the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Research Facilities.{{Cite journal |last=Leland |first=Dadson |date=1 October 2021 |title=Innovation Hub: Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) Site Entrance Building, Support and Maintenance Facility, and Science Collaboration Centre, Chalk River, Ontario |url=https://www.canadianarchitect.com/innovation-hub-canadian-nuclear-laboratories-cnl-site-entrance-building-support-and-maintenance-facility-and-science-collaboration-centre-chalk-river-ontario/ |journal=Canadian Architect |volume=66 |issue=7 |pages=26–27}}

In May 2023, it was announced that the world's first micro-modular reactor, from Global First Power (GFP), is to be built at Chalk River Laboratories and will be used to power the CNL campus as a demonstration unit. It is then expected that multiple microreactors, each the size of a shipping container, will be built at CNL and transported to remote northern communities where they will replace the existing diesel generator infrastructure, saving some 200 million litres of fuel. First power availability is slated for 2026.{{cite news|url=https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/world-s-first-micro-modular-reactor-to-be-built-in-chalk-river-ont-1.6395109|title=World's first micro-modular reactor to be built in Chalk River, Ont.|author=Dyson, Dylan|date=May 11, 2023|accessdate=May 12, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://globalfirstpower.com/news/canadas-first-small-modular-reactor-project-achieves-licensing-milestone/|title=Canada's First Small Modular Reactor Project Achieves Licensing Milestone|date=May 19, 2023|accessdate=May 12, 2023}}

• ZEEP – Zero Energy Experimental Pile Reactor (1945–1973).
• NRX – NRX Reactor (1947–1992).
• NRU – National Research Universal 135 MW (thermal) Reactor (1957–2018).
• CNBC – Canadian Neutron Beam Centre (ended operation along with NRU in 2018).
• PTR – Pool Test 10 kW Reactor (1957–1990).
• ZED-2 – Zero Energy Deuterium 200W Reactor (1960–present).
• NPD – Nuclear Power Demonstration 20MW(e) reactor; located north of CRL in Rolphton, Ontario (1960–1987).
• SLOWPOKE – Safe Low-Power Kritical Experiment 5 kW Reactor (1970–1976); moved to the University of Toronto in 1971.
• TASCC – Tandem Accelerator Superconducting Cyclotron (1986–1996).
• MAPLE-1 – Multipurpose Applied Physics Lattice Experiment Reactor (2000–2008; cancelled).
• MAPLE-2 – Multipurpose Applied Physics Lattice Experiment Reactor (2003–2008; cancelled).
• CRIPT – Cosmic Ray Inspection and Passive Tomography

{{stack|{{Portal|Ontario|Energy|Nuclear technology}}}}

• Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
• CANDU reactor
• Lew Kowarski
• George Laurence
• Manhattan Project
• Nuclear power in Canada
• Petten nuclear reactor, a nuclear reactor in the Netherlands that produces Europe's supply of isotopes for nuclear medicine
• Science and technology in Canada

{{Reflist}}

• Robert Bothwell, "Nucleus. The History of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited", University of Toronto Press, 1988.
• http://www.cnl.ca/en/home/default.aspx {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151130235258/http://www.cnl.ca/en/home/default.aspx |date=2015-11-30 }}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140303173118/http://dr-dn.cisti-icist.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/browse/images/?cn=nrcarchivesphotographs&al=Physics-+Atomic+Energy+Project NRC Archives Photographs - Physics- Atomic Energy Project collection]
• [http://mailman.mcmaster.ca/mailman/private/cdn-nucl-l/0508/msg00021.html Radioisotopes produced at Chalk River]
• [http://www.ccnr.org/paulson_legacy.html Nuclear Accidents at Chalk River: The Human Fallout]
• [http://www.nuclearfaq.ca/cnf_sectionD.htm#x What are the details of the accident at Chalk River's NRX reactor in 1952? (Canadian Nuclear FAQ, Dr. Jeremy Whitlock)]
• [http://www.nuclearfaq.ca/cnf_sectionD.htm#nru1958 What are the details of the accident at Chalk River's NRU reactor in 1958? (Canadian Nuclear FAQ, Dr. Jeremy Whitlock)]
• [http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1998/DB98-509.htm AM 530 kHz] CKML (see article) Emergency Broadcast Information Only (CRTC Approval November 25, 1998)

{{Nuclear power in Canada}}

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