Chalk river reactor restart delayed until July

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) has conducted a thorough review of the schedule of the Chalk River, Ontario-based National Research Universal (NRU) reactor and projected that the reactor will resume isotope supply by the end of July.
 
AECL has completed eight of ten weld site repairs representing more than half (56 percent) of the repair work necessary in order to return the NRU reactor to service.

According to the agency, the size and location of the two remaining repair sites make the final sequences particularly challenging.

“For each of these repairs, four distinct phases of work must be completed in sequence: weld development; welder qualification and reliability; integration testing; and, the actual repair itself. In light of this complexity, and the accumulated experience from the repair work completed to date, it became evident that the schedule needed to be revised,” said AECL.