Canada's Nuclear History
AECL Achievements:
a Half-Century Tradition
1945 The ZEEP research reactor is completed at Chalk River, Ontario
and sustains the first controlled nuclear chain reaction outside the
United States
1947 The National Research Experimental (NRX) reactor starts up at Chalk
River -- the most powerful research reactor in the world
1952 The Canadian Government forms the Crown corporation Atomic Energy
of Canada Limited, or AECL, from precursor organizations dating
back to the early 1940s
1954 AECL, Ontario Hydro, and Canadian General Electric (now G.E.
Canada Inc.) form a partnership to build Canada's first nuclear
power plant, Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD)
1957 The National Research Universal (NRU) reactor starts up, and today
is still considered one of the world's finest for its versatility
and high neutron flux
1960 Work begins on a 200 MWe CANDU prototype at Douglas Point, Ontario
1962 The Province of Ontario receives nuclear-generated electricity for
the first time from the NPD station
1965 The Douglas Point station starts up
1973 The Pickering Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario is completed,
producing more electricity than any nuclear power station in the
world at that time
1974 AECL makes its first international sale to Argentina -- a single-
unit CANDU 6 reactor, derived from the multi-unit Pickering station
1977 Pickering Unit 3 achieves the highest capacity factor in the world
1981 Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau visits Wolsong during construction
of Unit 1
1982 AECL begins construction on an Underground Research Laboratory for
investigation of long-term disposal of nuclear fuel waste
1983 Four CANDU 6s in Argentina (1 unit), Canada (2 units), Republic of
Korea (1 unit) start commercial operation and CANDU wins seven of
the top 10 places for lifetime performance among the world's
reactors
1987 CANDU wins one of the ten Canadian awards for the top engineering
achievements of the past century
1990 The Republic of Korea orders Wolsong Unit 2
1992 The Republic of Korea signs for two more reactors, Wolsong Units
3 and 4
1994 Bertram Brockhouse is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his
discoveries using neutron scattering at the NRU reactor.
1994 Pickering Unit 7 sets a world record for continuous operation
(894 days) without a shutdown
1995 The HANARO research reactor, with a core based on MAPLE technology,
starts up in the Republic of Korea
1996 Cernavoda Unit 1 attains criticality in Romania on April 16 --
the first CANDU in Europe
Above, the ZEEP building at Chalk River Laboratories near Chalk
River, Ontario, as it appeared around the time of the first startup in
1945.
The celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the first
Canadian nuclear chain reaction, and the first outside the United States,
on 1995 September 5, commemorated a history of achievement in the peaceful
applications of the power of the atom. AECL is justifiably proud of its
contributions to worldwide nuclear science and technology as well as the
direct and indirect benefits to humanity.
A joint British-Canadian laboratory was set up in 1942 in Montreal, P.Q.,
under the administration of the National Research Council to conceive a
reactor design and its associated operating and safety features. In 1944,
approval was given to proceed with the construction of the ZEEP (Zero Energy
Experimental Pile) reactor at Chalk River, Ontario. Dr. Lew Kowarski led
the team of physicists and engineers that designed ZEEP and put it into
service.
On 1945 September 5, at 3:45 p.m., ZEEP successfully achieved the first
atomic fission in Canada as well as the first self-sustained nuclear reaction
outside the United States. ZEEP enabled researchers to gather crucial information
about core behaviour and lattice design that paved the way for further
nuclear research and the evolution of the CANDU power reactor.
The Montreal Laboratory closed in 1946, but the work continued at Chalk
River. With the benefit of experimental data obtained from ZEEP, the NRX (National Research Experimental)
-- a natural-uranium, heavy-water-moderated research reactor -- started
up on 1947 July 22. Following this achievement was the startup of the much
larger NRU (National Research
Universal) -- a natural-uranium, heavy-water-moderated and -cooled research
reactor -- on 1957 November 3.
AECL today maintains a comprehensive R&D program that supports the
CANDU (CANada Deuterium Uranium) reactor design and its product development.
Together with partners in the Canadian nuclear industry and private-sector
companies in other countries, AECL has not only designed, engineered, and
supplied components but also managed the building and servicing of CANDU
units in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. The collaborative
effort has allowed the CANDU reactor to consistently place in the top ten
for operating lifetime capacity among 439 power reactors in the world.
At left, interior view of ZEEP taken during the 1950s, showing
researchers atop the reactor loading an experimental fuel rod. Experiments
were conducted on fuel for early CANDU designs, including NPD and Douglas
Point. [198 K GIF]
