AECL proceeds with restart plans

[LovelyBones]

By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
June 28, 2010

Atomic Energy of Canada (AECL) is proceeding with its plans to restart its National Research Universal (NRU) reactor at Chalk River, Ontario.
AECL has refilled the NRU vessel to its operating level, as work crews on June 20 began testing for any leaks to assess the weld repairs and to determine the vessel's fitness for service.

Part of the return-to-service project's plan includes reactivating the NRU's auxiliary operating systems. To date, 24 of the 35 NRU systems are now in service.

AECL is scheduled to appear before the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission on June 28 to request the board's approval to restart medical isotope production at Chalk River.

The reactor supplies approximately half of the medical isotope molybdenum-99 for North America.