A Canadian research firm has selected a decommissioning provider for its SLOWPOKE-2 nuclear reactor, and will return a small amount of spent fuel from the site to the United States.
The Saskatoon-based Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) on Monday announced that Candu Energy, a subsidiary of engineering and construction giant SNC-Lavalin, would decommission the Safe Low-Power Kritical Experiment research reactor.
The 37-year-old reactor for now remains operational, used in analysis of ores from the mining industry. However, it has nearly reached the end of its service life, according to SRC. The specific date of closure is not being released.
“We’re working with our contractor, SNC-Lavalin,” Joe Muldoon, vice president of SRC’s environment division, told RadWaste Monitor. “Once we have determined closer to the dates of shipping, that kind of thing, we will shut it down well in advance to make sure the fuel is in condition to be shipped.”
The reactor core itself is only the size of a shoe box, installed in a workroom with a protective barrier and some controls that must be removed for disposal. The Saskatchewan Research Council in December began working with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to secure authorization for decommissioning to begin. The entire process is expected to take two to three years, Muldoon said.
The SLOWPOKE-2 is still using its original highly enriched uranium reactor fuel, provided by the United States via Atomic Energy Canada Ltd. The roughly 2 kilograms of used material will be returned to the U.S. Department of Energy, Muldoon said, though for security reasons he declined to say where it would be stored.
The entire decommissioning is expected to cost about CAN $6.5 million ($4.9 million), according to Muldoon.
SNC-Lavalin was selected based on its experience in decommissioning other SLOWPOKE reactors, he said. The company has previously cleaned up SLOWPOKEs at Dalhousie University in Halifax and the University of Halifax.
“That’s why we’re utilizing their services. They know the Canadian regulatory system really well. They’ve shipped fuel before from the SLOWPOKE reactors. … They have all the people in place we would want to have.”
The SLOWPOKE reactor was designed in the 1960s by Atomic Energy Canada. Seven were deployed in Canada and one in Jamaica. Four of the Canadian reactors remain in operation.
