Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited or AECL is a Canadian federal Crown corporation with the responsibility to manage Canadian nuclear policy, promote nuclear energy and research, and to oversee nuclear waste developed by Canadian nuclear reactors as well as manage the decommissioning of older reactors.
The mandate of AECL is described as follows:
- Managing the Canadian nuclear platform responsibly and cost effectively.
- Leveraging the technology base to deliver nuclear products and services to market.
AECL also exports Canadian nuclear technology worldwide. Throughout the 1980s-2000s AECL marketed and built CANDU facilities in South Korea, Argentina, Romania, and China.
History
1940s
AECL traces its heritage to the Second World War when a joint Canadian-British nuclear research laboratory was established in Montreal in 1942, under the National Research Council of Canada to develop a design for a nuclear reactor. In 1944, approval was given by the federal government to begin with construction of the ZEEP (Zero Energy Experimental Pile) reactor at the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories in Rolphton, Ontario, located on the Chalk River, a tributary of the Ottawa River approximately 150 km northwest of Ottawa.
On September 5, 1945 the ZEEP reactor went critical, achieving the first "self-sustained nuclear reaction outside the United States." ZEEP put Canada at the forefront of nuclear research in the world and was the instigator behind eventual development of the CANDU reactors, ZEEP having operated as a research reactor until the early 1970s.
In 1946 the Montreal research laboratory was closed and research was consolidated at Chalk River Laboratories. On July 22, 1947 the NRX (National Research Experimental) reactor, the most powerful reactor in the world at the time, went critical and was "used successfully for producing radioisotopes, undertaking fuels and materials development work for CANDU reactors, and providing neutrons for physics experiments."
1950s
In 1952 AECL was formed by the government with a mandate to develop peaceful uses of nuclear energy. On November 3, 1957 the NRU (National Research Universal) reactor went critical. This is a natural-uranium, heavy-water-moderated and heavy-water-cooled research reactor which is a world-renowned research facility, producing about 60% of the world's supply of molybdenum-99, an isotope used for medical diagnosis. Canada also pioneered use of Cobalt-60 for medical diagnosis in 1951 and currently the NRU reactor produces the medical-use Cobalt-60, while selected CANDU reactors produce industrial-use Cobalt-60, comprising 85% of the world's supply.
1960s
In 1954 AECL partnered with the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario to build Canada's first nuclear power plant at Chalk River. On June 4, 1962 the NPD (Nuclear Power Demonstration) reactor went critical to demonstrate the CANDU concept. In 1963, AECL established the Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment (now Whiteshell Laboratories) in Pinawa, Manitoba where an organic-cooled and organic-operated research reactor was built.
1970s
In 1971 the first CANDU reactor, Pickering A 1, began commercial operation. By 1973 the other 3 reactors of the A group at Pickering were online and constituted the most powerful nuclear facility in the world at that time.
In 1977-1978 the Bruce A group went online and began commercial operation. In 1978, Whiteshell Labs began research into fuel waste disposal.
1980s
Between 1983-1986 the Pickering B group went online and also in 1983 the single CANDU reactor at Point Lepreau began operation, as did the Gentilly 2 CANDU reactor. Between 1984-1987 the Bruce B group began commercial operation and also in 1987 the CANDU design was ranked one of Canada's top-10 engineering achievements.
1990s - present
Between 1990-1993 the 4 CANDU reactors at Darlington went online and represent the most recent reactor construction in Canada.
In 2000, AECL commissioned the MAPLE reactor, Canada's latest research reactor at Chalk River Labs. In 2001, AECL began tests at Chalk River Labs to determine the feasibility of using surplus MOX (mixed oxide) fuel from the Russian and U.S. defence programs (which contains plutonium) as a fuel in CANDU facilities.
