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By BRYN WEESE, Parliamentary Bureau
OTTAWA — Restarting the Chalk River nuclear reactor and resuming the production of medical isotopes is now in the hands of Canada’s nuclear safety watchdog.
Atomic Energy Canada Ltd. pleaded its case to restart the NRU reactor to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission on Monday, saying all repairs have been completed and rigorous testing shows it’s safe.
The 53-year-old NRU reactor was shut down in May 2009 after it was discovered heavy water was leaking into the Ottawa River.
“My colleagues and I are here to report that we have successfully repaired and leak tested the NRU vessel,” said Hugh MacDiarmid, president of AECL. “We at AECL are confident NRU is now ready to resume safe operation.”
The commission is expected to rule on the application Wednesday.
Up until last May, the NRU research reactor had been producing about one-third of the world’s medical isotopes, which are used to detect cancer and heart disease.
If Chalk River is allowed to fire up, isotopes could be produced by the end of this month.
According to MacDiarmid, AECL’s president, the repairs and the lost revenue from lost isotope sales have cost around $115 million, which taxpayers will have to pay for.
But that may not always be the case.
While AECL officials were making their case to restart the reactor, senators were mulling over an omnibus budget bill that, if passed, would allow the government to sell part of or all of AECL.
The senate is expected to vote on that bill as early as next week.
bryn.weese@sunmedia.ca