Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
Encyclopedia
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited or AECL is a Canadian
federal Crown corporation and Canada's largest nuclear science and technology laboratory. AECL developed the CANDU reactor technology starting in the 1950s, and in October 2011 licensed this technology to Candu Energy
(a wholly owned subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin
).
Today AECL develops peaceful and innovative applications from nuclear technology through expertise in physics, metallurgy, chemistry, biology and engineering. AECL's activities range from research and development, design and engineering to specialized technology development, waste management and decommissioning. AECL partners with Canadian universities, other Canadian government and private-sector R&D agencies (including Candu Energy), various national laboratories outside Canada, and international agencies such as the IAEA.
AECL describes its goal as ensuring that "Canadians and the world receive energy, health, environmental and economic benefits from nuclear science and technology - with confidence that nuclear safety and security are assured".
Until October 2011 AECL was also the vendor of CANDU technology, which it had exported worldwide. Throughout the 1960s-2000s AECL marketed and built CANDU facilities in India
, South Korea
, Argentina
, Romania
, and the People's Republic of China
. It is a member of the World Nuclear Association
trade group.
In addition, AECL manufactures nuclear medicine
radioisotopes for supply to MDS Nordion in Ottawa
, Ontario
, and is the world's largest supplier of Molybdenum
-99 for diagnostic tests, and Cobalt-60
for cancer
therapy.
AECL is funded through a combination of federal government appropriations and commercial revenue. In 2009, AECL received $651 million in federal support.
In October 2011 the federal government of Canada sold the commercial CANDU design and marketing business of AECL to Candu Energy for $15 million (including 15 years worth of royalties, the government could get back as much as $285 million). The sale entered the exclusive negotiation stage in February, a month after the other bidder, Bruce Power
pulled out). Poor sales and cost overruns ($1.2 billion in the last five years) were reasons for the divestment though SNC-Lavalin expects to reverse that trend by focusing on new generation reactors
. SNC-Lavalin Nuclear Inc, SNC's nuclear subsidiary is already part of Team CANDU, a group of five companies that manufacture and refurbish the CANDU reactors. The government will continue to own the Chalk River Laboratories
(produces isotopes for medical imaging). The transaction puts 800 jobs at risk while improving job security for 1,200 employees. Due to safety concerns many countries are considering thorium nuclear reactors which AECL's CANDU reactors easily convert into (from uranium fueled). Higher energy yields using thorium
as the fuel (1 ton of thorium produces the same amount of energy as 200 tons of uranium) also makes it more attractive. OMERS
has also shown interest in the company.
nuclear research laboratory was established in Montreal
in 1942, under the National Research Council of Canada
to develop a design for a nuclear reactor. http://www.cns-snc.ca/history/fifty_years/goldschmidt.html In 1944, approval was given by the federal government to begin with construction of the ZEEP (Zero Energy Experimental Pile) reactor at the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories
near Chalk River, Ontario
, located on the Ottawa River
approximately 190 km northwest of Ottawa
. AECL was also involved in the development of associated technology such as the UTEC
computer.
On September 5, 1945 the ZEEP
reactor first went critical, achieving the first "self-sustained nuclear reaction outside the United States."http://www.aecl.ca/index.asp?layid=3&csid=47&menuid=20 ZEEP put Canada at the forefront of nuclear research in the world and was the instigator behind eventual development of the CANDU reactors, ZEEP having operated as a research reactor until the early 1970s.
In 1946 the Montreal research laboratory was closed and research was consolidated at Chalk River Laboratories. On July 22, 1947 the NRX
(National Research Experimental) reactor, the most powerful reactor in the world at the time, went critical and was "used successfully for producing radioisotopes, undertaking fuels and materials development work for CANDU reactors, and providing neutrons for physics experiments."http://www.aecl.ca/index.asp?layid=3&csid=47&menuid=20
On December 12, 1952 one of the world's first major reactor accidents occurred in the NRX
reactor at AECL's Chalk River Laboratories, when a combination of human and mechanical error led to a temporary loss of control over the reactor's power level. Undercooling of the fuel channels led to a partial meltdown. This caused a hydrogen-oxygen explosion inside the calandria
. Several fuel bundles experienced melting and ruptured, rendering much of the core interior unusable. The reactor building was contaminated, as well as an area of the Chalk River site, and millions of gallons of radioactive water accumulated in the reactor basement. This water was pumped to a waste management area of the Laboratories and monitored. Hundreds of military personnel from Canada and the U.S. (including naval officer and later U.S. President, Lt. James "Jimmy" Carter
) were employed in the cleanup and disposal of the reactor debris.http://www.ccnr.org/paulson_legacy.html
The NRX was repaired, upgraded, and returned to service 14 months later and operated for another 40 years, finally being shut down in 1992. Throughout the 1950s the NRX was used by many researchers in the pioneering fields of neutron
condensed matter physics, including Dr. Bertram Brockhouse
, who shared the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physics
for his work in developing the neutron scattering techniques.
On November 3, 1957 the NRU (National Research Universal Reactor
) first went critical. This was a natural-uranium fuelled, heavy-water moderated and cooled research reactor (converted to high-enriched-uranium fuel in the 1960s, and finally to low-enriched-uranium fuel in the 1990s). The NRU is a world-renowned research facility, producing about 60% of the world's supply of molybdenum-99, the principle isotope used for nuclear medical diagnosis. Canada also pioneered use of Cobalt-60 for medical diagnosis in 1951 and currently the NRU reactor produces the medical-use Cobalt-60, while selected CANDU reactors produce industrial-use Cobalt-60, comprising 85% of the world's supply. NRU was primarily a Canadian design, and a significant improvement on NRX. Other than radioisotope production, the NRU provides irradiation services for nuclear materials and fuels testing, as well as producing neutron beams for the National Research Council's Canadian Neutron Beam Laboratory.
On May 24, 1958 the NRU suffered a major accident. A damaged uranium fuel rod caught fire and was torn in two as it was being removed from the core, due to inadequate cooling. The fire was extinguished, but not before releasing a sizeable quantity of radioactive combustion products that contaminated the interior of the reactor building and, to a lesser degree, an area of the surrounding laboratory site. Over 600 people were employed in the clean-up.http://www.ccnr.org/paulson_legacy.htmlhttp://www.nuclearfaq.ca/cnf_sectionD.htm#nru1958
A few men were over-exposed to radiation, but no direct injuries resulted from AECL's two accidents.
at Rolphton, Ontario, which is 30 km upstream from Chalk River. On June 4, 1962 the NPD (Nuclear Power Demonstration
) first reactor went critical to demonstrate the CANDU concept, generating about 20 MWe. In 1963, AECL established the Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment (now Whiteshell Laboratories
) in Pinawa
, Manitoba
where an organic-cooled and organic-operated research reactor was built. Later work on developing a Slow Poke reactor, Thorium
Fuel Cycle, and a proposal for safe storage of Nuclear waste were carried out at this site.
AECL built a larger CANDU prototype (200 MWe) at Douglas Point
on Lake Huron, first going critical on November 15, 1966. Douglas Point experienced significant problems with leakage of heavy water
, which were eventually solved by much-improved valve design. Other important design refinements worked out at Douglas Point opened the way for upscaling to commercial power CANDU reactors in subsequent years.
A 1, began commercial operation. By 1973 the other three reactors of the A group at Pickering were online and constituted the most powerful nuclear facility in the world at that time. Each Pickering unit produces about 600 MWe of power.
On May 18, 1974, India
detonated a nuclear bomb made from plutonium manufactured by the CIRUS
research reactor built by AECL in 1956, which was a commercial version of its NRX
research reactor. In addition AECL built two power reactors in India based on the Douglas Point design, and many of India's other reactors are domestic variants of this design. The connection between India's nuclear weapons program and its CIRUS research reactor led to a severance of nuclear technological cooperation between Canada and India. http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-75-104-898/science_technology/candu/clip4
In 1977-1978 the Bruce
A group went online and began commercial operation. Each Bruce unit produces about 800 MWe of power. In 1978, Whiteshell Labs began research into fuel waste disposal.
began operation, as did the Gentilly
2 CANDU reactor. Between 1984-1987 the Bruce B group began commercial operation, and also in 1987 the CANDU design was ranked one of Canada's top-10 engineering achievements.
Douglas Point was decommissioned in May, 1984.
Between 1985 and 1987, a series of design flaws in AECL's Therac-25
medical accelerator caused massive overdoses of radiation on 6 different occasions, resulting in five deaths. In 1987 the machine was found defective by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) and recalled by AECL.
went online and represent the most recent reactor construction in Canada.
In 1991, AECL decided to spin-off its medical isotope production business under the name Nordion International Inc. The unit was sold to MDS Health Group
and now operates under the name MDS Nordion
With a contract signed in 1991, AECL, in partnership with MDS Nordion, began construction of the MAPLE
dedicated isotope-production facility. Constructed on-site at AECL's Chalk River Laboratories
this facility will house two reactors and an isotope processing facility. Each reactor is designed to be able to produce at least 100% of the world's medical isotopes
, meaning that the second reactor will be used as a back-up to ensure an uninterruptible supply. Although slated to be commissioned in 2000, construction and licensing delays have so far prevented the facility from opening (As of June, 2005).
Unit 1 of the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant
was commissioned on December 2, 1996. Rated at 706 MWe, it currently supplies approximately 10% of Romania's electrical needs. Unit Two achieved criticality on 6 May 2007 and was connected to the national grid on 7 August. It began operating at full capacity on 12 September 2007, also producing 706 MW.
In the late 1990s, several reactors were built by AECL in South Korea
. Wolsong 2 was commissioned July 1, 1997. Wolsong 3 was commissioned on July 1, 1998. Wolsong 4 was commissioned October 1, 1999. All three reactors were rated at 715MWe Gross Output. They currently have some of the highest lifetime capacity factors of nuclear reactors.
n and U.S.
defence programs (which contains plutonium) as a fuel in CANDU reactors.
Currently, AECL is developing the Advanced CANDU Reactor
, or "ACR". This design is meant to improve the commercial CANDU 6 design in terms of capital cost and construction schedule, while maintaining the classic design and safety characteristics of the CANDU concept.
Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant
Unit 2 began operation on May 6, 2007. Preparatory work required for the completion of Units 3 and 4 is scheduled to begin by the end of 2007.
Company president Robert Van Adel has announced that he will be stepping down from the position of president and retire from the company effective November 11, 2007.
Energy Alberta Corporation
announced August 27, 2007 that they had filed application for a license to build a new nuclear plant at Lac Cardinal (30 km west of the town of Peace River. The application would see an initial twin AECL
Advanced CANDU Reactor
(ACR) plant go online in 2017, producing 2.2 gigawatt (electric).
Point Lepreau, New Brunswick Candu 6 plant refurbishment to begin as of April 1, 2008.
In June 2008, the Province of Ontario has announced plans to build two additional commercial reactors for electricity generation at a site next to Ontario Power Generation
's Darlington Nuclear Generating Station
Two companies, AREVA
and Westinghouse Electric Company
along with AECL submitted proposals to build the reactors. In June 2009 the province announced that only AECL's ACR-1000 submission met all the proposal requirements. The Ontario government has since suspended the acquisition process citing the cost and uncertainty surrounding the companies future ownership (discussed below).
Medical isotope production using the NRU reactor experienced two forced outages due to safety concerns (December 2007) and a heavy water leak (May 14, 2009). The production from the NRU reactor represents a significant fraction of the worlds medical isotope supply and the disruptions has caused a world-wide shortage. Due to maintenance requirements from the aging NRU reactor and the MAPLE 1 & 2 reactor projects, the long term production of medical isotopes in Canada has become a controversial topic (see below).
won an international bidding process for the reactor design division of the company. Prior to the acquisition 10% of SNC Lavalin's international power workforce (400 if 4000) were engaged in the production and refurbishment of nuclear reactors. Concerns raised about the deal include a lack of commitment by SNC-Lavalin to keeping the design division intact (its size makes it more capable of providing ongoing safety support). For 2010 and 2009 combined Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd lost $493 million. Following divestiture of the reactor design division, AECL will consist of the current Nuclear Laboratories division, including the Chalk River laboratory (produces isotopes for medical imaging), and will continue to be a Crown Corporation
safety concerns created a political firestorm in December 2007. AECL extended a planned maintenance outage to complete the installation of safety upgrades, after the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
(CNSC) confirmed that AECL was out of compliance with its operating licence (granted by the CNSC in August 2006) by not having these safety upgrades completed. It became clear that a misunderstanding had taken place between AECL and the CNSC regarding whether the completion of these safety upgrades was, in fact, a licence condition in the first place. The misunderstanding was partly due to the fact that several communications between AECL and the CSNC in the time period 2005-2007 accurately describe the incomplete nature of the safety upgrades, up to and after the granting of the August 2006 licence.
The one-month shutdown of NRU created a shortage of medical radioisotopes; Canada produces about 60 per cent of the world's supply. Parliament passed emergency legislation, winning all-party support, to order the reactor to be restarted, and NRU resumed operations on December 16, 2007.
Subsequently, federal Conservative Energy and Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn
indicated in a letter that he wished to fire CNSC chair Linda Keen over the matter. The Ottawa Citizen obtained and published Lunn's letter to Keen on January 8, 2008. Keen responded by going public with her own criticism of Lunn, publishing a letter on CNSC's website on January 9. Canadian media further developed the story.
Under the Financial Administration Act, AECL and other federal Crown corporations are subject to a special examination by the Auditor General of Canada
http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca once every five years. In September 2007, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada submitted a special examination report to AECL's board of directors, indicating also that the report would be provided to Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn, who oversees AECL at the political level. Fraser's report pinpointed serious government funding deficiencies for AECL, which had held back necessary expansion, upgrading, and replacement of its facilities. Opposition politicians defended Keen, called for Lunn to be fired, and for the report to be made public (Auditor-General's report identified 'deficiency' at AECL, by Juliet O'Neill
, The National Post, January 10, 2008, p. A1).
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
backed Lunn, (http://www.theglobeandmail.com, January 10, 2008). and Linda Keen was dismissed as chair of the CNSC at 10pm Tuesday January 15 – 12 hours before she was to appear before a Commons committee. She remains a member of the CNSC board. EdmontonSun, CBC News
On January 29, 2008, the former President of the CNSC, Linda Keen, testified before a Parliamentary Committee that the risk of fuel failure in the NRU reactor was "1 in 1000", and claimed this risk to be a thousand times greater than the "international standard of 1 in one million". These claims are refuted by AECL.
On May 15, 2009, AECL shut down the Chalk River facility to repair heavy water leaks that occurred after a power outage. The shutdown is causing a shortage of medical radioisotopes.
On May 28, 2009 the Harper government announced that they intend to separate out and privatize part of AECL's reactor design assets.
On June 2, 2009, secret government documents on AECL were revealed by CTV news. In the documents it was revealed that the government had spent $1.7 billion on AECL since 2006; that $100 million had been requested by AECL in supplementary funding to keep it solvent and that refurbishment of the Bruce nuclear reactors is "far behind schedule". "Bruce 1 is 324 days late" and "Bruce 2 reactor 433 days late."
On June 10, 2009, Prime Minister Harper announced that Canada will "eventually...be out of the business" of medical isotope production.
On 17 Dec, 2009, Natural Resources Canada Minister Lisa Raitt formally announced the offering of AECL's CANDU engineering division for private investment.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
federal Crown corporation and Canada's largest nuclear science and technology laboratory. AECL developed the CANDU reactor technology starting in the 1950s, and in October 2011 licensed this technology to Candu Energy
Candu Energy Inc.
Candu Energy Inc. is a Canadian wholly owned subsidiary of Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin Inc., specializing in the design and supply of nuclear reactors, as well as nuclear reactor products and services. Candu Energy Inc...
(a wholly owned subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin
SNC-Lavalin
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. is a large Canadian engineering firm. It is one of the ten largest engineering firms in the world and is based in Montreal, Quebec. It formed in 1991 from the merger of SNC and the failing Lavalin, another Quebec based engineering firm....
).
Today AECL develops peaceful and innovative applications from nuclear technology through expertise in physics, metallurgy, chemistry, biology and engineering. AECL's activities range from research and development, design and engineering to specialized technology development, waste management and decommissioning. AECL partners with Canadian universities, other Canadian government and private-sector R&D agencies (including Candu Energy), various national laboratories outside Canada, and international agencies such as the IAEA.
AECL describes its goal as ensuring that "Canadians and the world receive energy, health, environmental and economic benefits from nuclear science and technology - with confidence that nuclear safety and security are assured".
Until October 2011 AECL was also the vendor of CANDU technology, which it had exported worldwide. Throughout the 1960s-2000s AECL marketed and built CANDU facilities in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, and the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. It is a member of the World Nuclear Association
World Nuclear Association
The World Nuclear Association , formerly the Uranium Institute, is an international organization that promotes nuclear power and supports the many companies that comprise the global nuclear industry...
trade group.
In addition, AECL manufactures nuclear medicine
Nuclear medicine
In nuclear medicine procedures, elemental radionuclides are combined with other elements to form chemical compounds, or else combined with existing pharmaceutical compounds, to form radiopharmaceuticals. These radiopharmaceuticals, once administered to the patient, can localize to specific organs...
radioisotopes for supply to MDS Nordion in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, and is the world's largest supplier of Molybdenum
Molybdenum
Molybdenum , is a Group 6 chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is from Neo-Latin Molybdaenum, from Ancient Greek , meaning lead, itself proposed as a loanword from Anatolian Luvian and Lydian languages, since its ores were confused with lead ores...
-99 for diagnostic tests, and Cobalt-60
Cobalt-60
Cobalt-60, , is a synthetic radioactive isotope of cobalt. Due to its half-life of 5.27 years, is not found in nature. It is produced artificially by neutron activation of . decays by beta decay to the stable isotope nickel-60...
for cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
therapy.
AECL is funded through a combination of federal government appropriations and commercial revenue. In 2009, AECL received $651 million in federal support.
In October 2011 the federal government of Canada sold the commercial CANDU design and marketing business of AECL to Candu Energy for $15 million (including 15 years worth of royalties, the government could get back as much as $285 million). The sale entered the exclusive negotiation stage in February, a month after the other bidder, Bruce Power
Bruce Power
Bruce Power Limited Partnership is a Canadian business partnership composed of several corporations. It exists as a partnership between Cameco Corporation , TransCanada Corporation , BPC Generation Infrastructure Trust , the Power Workers Union and The Society of Energy Professionals...
pulled out). Poor sales and cost overruns ($1.2 billion in the last five years) were reasons for the divestment though SNC-Lavalin expects to reverse that trend by focusing on new generation reactors
Generation IV reactor
Generation IV reactors are a set of theoretical nuclear reactor designs currently being researched. Most of these designs are generally not expected to be available for commercial construction before 2030...
. SNC-Lavalin Nuclear Inc, SNC's nuclear subsidiary is already part of Team CANDU, a group of five companies that manufacture and refurbish the CANDU reactors. The government will continue to own the Chalk River Laboratories
Chalk River Laboratories
The Chalk River Laboratories is a Canadian nuclear research facility located near Chalk River, about north-west of Ottawa in the province of Ontario.CRL is a site of major research and development to support and advance nuclear technology, in particular CANDU reactor...
(produces isotopes for medical imaging). The transaction puts 800 jobs at risk while improving job security for 1,200 employees. Due to safety concerns many countries are considering thorium nuclear reactors which AECL's CANDU reactors easily convert into (from uranium fueled). Higher energy yields using thorium
Thorium
Thorium is a natural radioactive chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. It was discovered in 1828 and named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder....
as the fuel (1 ton of thorium produces the same amount of energy as 200 tons of uranium) also makes it more attractive. OMERS
OMERS
OMERS, officially the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, is a pension fund created by statute in 1962 to handle the retirement benefits of local government employees in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has become one of the largest institutional investors in Canada. About 70% of...
has also shown interest in the company.
1940s
AECL traces its heritage to the Second World War when a joint Canadian-BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
nuclear research laboratory was established in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
in 1942, under the National Research Council of Canada
National Research Council of Canada
The National Research Council is an agency of the Government of Canada which conducts scientific research and development.- History :...
to develop a design for a nuclear reactor. http://www.cns-snc.ca/history/fifty_years/goldschmidt.html In 1944, approval was given by the federal government to begin with construction of the ZEEP (Zero Energy Experimental Pile) reactor at the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories
Chalk River Laboratories
The Chalk River Laboratories is a Canadian nuclear research facility located near Chalk River, about north-west of Ottawa in the province of Ontario.CRL is a site of major research and development to support and advance nuclear technology, in particular CANDU reactor...
near Chalk River, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, located on the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
approximately 190 km northwest of Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
. AECL was also involved in the development of associated technology such as the UTEC
UTEC
UTEC was a computer built at the University of Toronto in the early 1950s. It was one of the first working computers in the world, although only built in a prototype form while awaiting funding for expansion into a full-scale version. This funding was eventually used to purchase a surplus...
computer.
On September 5, 1945 the ZEEP
ZEEP
The ZEEP reactor was a nuclear reactor built at the Chalk River Laboratories near Chalk River, Ontario, Canada . ZEEP first went critical at 3:45 PM, September 5, 1945...
reactor first went critical, achieving the first "self-sustained nuclear reaction outside the United States."http://www.aecl.ca/index.asp?layid=3&csid=47&menuid=20 ZEEP put Canada at the forefront of nuclear research in the world and was the instigator behind eventual development of the CANDU reactors, ZEEP having operated as a research reactor until the early 1970s.
In 1946 the Montreal research laboratory was closed and research was consolidated at Chalk River Laboratories. On July 22, 1947 the NRX
NRX
NRX was a heavy water moderated, light water cooled, nuclear research reactor at the Canadian Chalk River Laboratories, which came into operation in 1947 at a design power rating of 10 MW , increasing to 42 MW by 1954...
(National Research Experimental) reactor, the most powerful reactor in the world at the time, went critical and was "used successfully for producing radioisotopes, undertaking fuels and materials development work for CANDU reactors, and providing neutrons for physics experiments."http://www.aecl.ca/index.asp?layid=3&csid=47&menuid=20
1950s
In 1952 AECL was formed by the government with a mandate to develop peaceful uses of nuclear energy.On December 12, 1952 one of the world's first major reactor accidents occurred in the NRX
NRX
NRX was a heavy water moderated, light water cooled, nuclear research reactor at the Canadian Chalk River Laboratories, which came into operation in 1947 at a design power rating of 10 MW , increasing to 42 MW by 1954...
reactor at AECL's Chalk River Laboratories, when a combination of human and mechanical error led to a temporary loss of control over the reactor's power level. Undercooling of the fuel channels led to a partial meltdown. This caused a hydrogen-oxygen explosion inside the calandria
Calandria
A calandria is the reactor core of the CANDU reactor. The calandria contains heavy water, a moderator used to moderate neutrons to achieve nuclear fission....
. Several fuel bundles experienced melting and ruptured, rendering much of the core interior unusable. The reactor building was contaminated, as well as an area of the Chalk River site, and millions of gallons of radioactive water accumulated in the reactor basement. This water was pumped to a waste management area of the Laboratories and monitored. Hundreds of military personnel from Canada and the U.S. (including naval officer and later U.S. President, Lt. James "Jimmy" Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
) were employed in the cleanup and disposal of the reactor debris.http://www.ccnr.org/paulson_legacy.html
The NRX was repaired, upgraded, and returned to service 14 months later and operated for another 40 years, finally being shut down in 1992. Throughout the 1950s the NRX was used by many researchers in the pioneering fields of neutron
Neutron
The neutron is a subatomic hadron particle which has the symbol or , no net electric charge and a mass slightly larger than that of a proton. With the exception of hydrogen, nuclei of atoms consist of protons and neutrons, which are therefore collectively referred to as nucleons. The number of...
condensed matter physics, including Dr. Bertram Brockhouse
Bertram Brockhouse
Bertram Neville Brockhouse, was a Canadian physicist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics "for pioneering contributions to the development of neutron scattering techniques for studies of condensed matter", in particular "for the development of neutron spectroscopy".-Life:Brockhouse was...
, who shared the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
for his work in developing the neutron scattering techniques.
On November 3, 1957 the NRU (National Research Universal Reactor
National Research Universal Reactor
The National Research Universal reactor, located in Chalk River, Ontario, is one of Canada’s national science facilities. It is a multipurpose science facility that serves three main roles....
) first went critical. This was a natural-uranium fuelled, heavy-water moderated and cooled research reactor (converted to high-enriched-uranium fuel in the 1960s, and finally to low-enriched-uranium fuel in the 1990s). The NRU is a world-renowned research facility, producing about 60% of the world's supply of molybdenum-99, the principle isotope used for nuclear medical diagnosis. Canada also pioneered use of Cobalt-60 for medical diagnosis in 1951 and currently the NRU reactor produces the medical-use Cobalt-60, while selected CANDU reactors produce industrial-use Cobalt-60, comprising 85% of the world's supply. NRU was primarily a Canadian design, and a significant improvement on NRX. Other than radioisotope production, the NRU provides irradiation services for nuclear materials and fuels testing, as well as producing neutron beams for the National Research Council's Canadian Neutron Beam Laboratory.
On May 24, 1958 the NRU suffered a major accident. A damaged uranium fuel rod caught fire and was torn in two as it was being removed from the core, due to inadequate cooling. The fire was extinguished, but not before releasing a sizeable quantity of radioactive combustion products that contaminated the interior of the reactor building and, to a lesser degree, an area of the surrounding laboratory site. Over 600 people were employed in the clean-up.http://www.ccnr.org/paulson_legacy.htmlhttp://www.nuclearfaq.ca/cnf_sectionD.htm#nru1958
A few men were over-exposed to radiation, but no direct injuries resulted from AECL's two accidents.
1960s
In 1954 AECL partnered with the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario to build Canada's first nuclear power plantNuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
at Rolphton, Ontario, which is 30 km upstream from Chalk River. On June 4, 1962 the NPD (Nuclear Power Demonstration
Nuclear Power Demonstration
Nuclear Power Demonstration was the first Canadian nuclear power reactor, and the prototype for the CANDU reactor design. Built by Canadian General Electric , in partnership with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and Ontario Hydro , it consisted of a single 22 MWe pressurized heavy water reactor ...
) first reactor went critical to demonstrate the CANDU concept, generating about 20 MWe. In 1963, AECL established the Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment (now Whiteshell Laboratories
Whiteshell Laboratories
The Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment, now Whiteshell Laboratories, was established by the Government of Canada in 1963 as an AECL research laboratory in Pinawa, Manitoba...
) in Pinawa
Pinawa, Manitoba
Pinawa is a small Canadian community of about 1500 residents located in southeastern Manitoba, 110 kilometres north-east of Winnipeg. The town is situated on the Canadian Shield within the western boundary of Whiteshell Provincial Park, which lies near the Manitoba-Ontario provincial boundary...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
where an organic-cooled and organic-operated research reactor was built. Later work on developing a Slow Poke reactor, Thorium
Thorium
Thorium is a natural radioactive chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. It was discovered in 1828 and named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder....
Fuel Cycle, and a proposal for safe storage of Nuclear waste were carried out at this site.
AECL built a larger CANDU prototype (200 MWe) at Douglas Point
Douglas Point
The Douglas Point Nuclear Generating Station was Canada’s first full-scale nuclear power plant and the second CANDU Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor....
on Lake Huron, first going critical on November 15, 1966. Douglas Point experienced significant problems with leakage of heavy water
Heavy water
Heavy water is water highly enriched in the hydrogen isotope deuterium; e.g., heavy water used in CANDU reactors is 99.75% enriched by hydrogen atom-fraction...
, which were eventually solved by much-improved valve design. Other important design refinements worked out at Douglas Point opened the way for upscaling to commercial power CANDU reactors in subsequent years.
1970s
In 1971 the first commercial CANDU reactor, PickeringPickering Nuclear Generating Station
Pickering Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Pickering, Ontario. The facility derives its name from the City of Pickering in which it is located....
A 1, began commercial operation. By 1973 the other three reactors of the A group at Pickering were online and constituted the most powerful nuclear facility in the world at that time. Each Pickering unit produces about 600 MWe of power.
On May 18, 1974, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
detonated a nuclear bomb made from plutonium manufactured by the CIRUS
CIRUS reactor
CIRUS is a research reactor at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center in Trombay near Mumbai, India. CIRUS was supplied by Canada in 1954, but uses heavy water supplied by the United States. It is the second oldest reactor in India. It is modeled on the Canadian Chalk River National Research...
research reactor built by AECL in 1956, which was a commercial version of its NRX
NRX
NRX was a heavy water moderated, light water cooled, nuclear research reactor at the Canadian Chalk River Laboratories, which came into operation in 1947 at a design power rating of 10 MW , increasing to 42 MW by 1954...
research reactor. In addition AECL built two power reactors in India based on the Douglas Point design, and many of India's other reactors are domestic variants of this design. The connection between India's nuclear weapons program and its CIRUS research reactor led to a severance of nuclear technological cooperation between Canada and India. http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-75-104-898/science_technology/candu/clip4
In 1977-1978 the Bruce
Bruce Nuclear Generating Station
Bruce Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located on the eastern shore of Lake Huron, in the communities of Inverhuron and Tiverton, Ontario. It occupies 932 ha of land. The facility derives its name from Bruce County in which it is located, in the former Bruce Township...
A group went online and began commercial operation. Each Bruce unit produces about 800 MWe of power. In 1978, Whiteshell Labs began research into fuel waste disposal.
1980s
Between 1983 and 1986, the Pickering B group went online and also in 1983 the single CANDU reactor at Point LepreauPoint Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station
Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located 2 km northeast of Point Lepreau, New Brunswick. The facility was constructed between 1975-1983 by NB Power, the provincially-owned public utility....
began operation, as did the Gentilly
Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station
Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located near Bécancour, Quebec. The facility derives its name from the Gentilly suburb of the city of Bécancour, in which it is located...
2 CANDU reactor. Between 1984-1987 the Bruce B group began commercial operation, and also in 1987 the CANDU design was ranked one of Canada's top-10 engineering achievements.
Douglas Point was decommissioned in May, 1984.
Between 1985 and 1987, a series of design flaws in AECL's Therac-25
Therac-25
The Therac-25 was a radiation therapy machine produced by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited after the Therac-6 and Therac-20 units ....
medical accelerator caused massive overdoses of radiation on 6 different occasions, resulting in five deaths. In 1987 the machine was found defective by the Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
(FDA) and recalled by AECL.
1990s
Between 1990 and 1993, the 4 CANDU reactors at DarlingtonDarlington Nuclear Generating Station
Darlington Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Clarington, Ontario. The facility derives its name from the Township of Darlington, the former name of the municipality in which it is located.The Darlington station is a large...
went online and represent the most recent reactor construction in Canada.
In 1991, AECL decided to spin-off its medical isotope production business under the name Nordion International Inc. The unit was sold to MDS Health Group
MDS Inc.
Nordion Inc. is a global specialty health science company that provides products used for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. The company supplies medical isotopes, targeted therapies and sterilization technologies to more than 60 countries around the world.Nordion is headquartered...
and now operates under the name MDS Nordion
With a contract signed in 1991, AECL, in partnership with MDS Nordion, began construction of the MAPLE
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
dedicated isotope-production facility. Constructed on-site at AECL's Chalk River Laboratories
Chalk River Laboratories
The Chalk River Laboratories is a Canadian nuclear research facility located near Chalk River, about north-west of Ottawa in the province of Ontario.CRL is a site of major research and development to support and advance nuclear technology, in particular CANDU reactor...
this facility will house two reactors and an isotope processing facility. Each reactor is designed to be able to produce at least 100% of the world's medical isotopes
Nuclear medicine
In nuclear medicine procedures, elemental radionuclides are combined with other elements to form chemical compounds, or else combined with existing pharmaceutical compounds, to form radiopharmaceuticals. These radiopharmaceuticals, once administered to the patient, can localize to specific organs...
, meaning that the second reactor will be used as a back-up to ensure an uninterruptible supply. Although slated to be commissioned in 2000, construction and licensing delays have so far prevented the facility from opening (As of June, 2005).
Unit 1 of the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant
Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant
The Nuclear Power Plant in Cernavodă is the only nuclear power plant in Romania. It produces around 20% of the country's electricity. It uses CANDU reactor technology from AECL, using heavy water produced at Drobeta-Turnu Severin as its neutron moderator and water from the Danube – Black Sea Canal...
was commissioned on December 2, 1996. Rated at 706 MWe, it currently supplies approximately 10% of Romania's electrical needs. Unit Two achieved criticality on 6 May 2007 and was connected to the national grid on 7 August. It began operating at full capacity on 12 September 2007, also producing 706 MW.
In the late 1990s, several reactors were built by AECL in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. Wolsong 2 was commissioned July 1, 1997. Wolsong 3 was commissioned on July 1, 1998. Wolsong 4 was commissioned October 1, 1999. All three reactors were rated at 715MWe Gross Output. They currently have some of the highest lifetime capacity factors of nuclear reactors.
2000s
In 2001, AECL began tests at Chalk River Labs to determine the feasibility of using surplus mixed oxide fuel (MOX) from the RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n and U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
defence programs (which contains plutonium) as a fuel in CANDU reactors.
Currently, AECL is developing the Advanced CANDU Reactor
Advanced CANDU Reactor
The Advanced CANDU Reactor is a Generation III+ nuclear reactor design and is a further development of existing CANDU reactors designed by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. The ACR is a light-water-cooled reactor that incorporates features of both Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors and Advanced...
, or "ACR". This design is meant to improve the commercial CANDU 6 design in terms of capital cost and construction schedule, while maintaining the classic design and safety characteristics of the CANDU concept.
Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant
Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant
The Nuclear Power Plant in Cernavodă is the only nuclear power plant in Romania. It produces around 20% of the country's electricity. It uses CANDU reactor technology from AECL, using heavy water produced at Drobeta-Turnu Severin as its neutron moderator and water from the Danube – Black Sea Canal...
Unit 2 began operation on May 6, 2007. Preparatory work required for the completion of Units 3 and 4 is scheduled to begin by the end of 2007.
Company president Robert Van Adel has announced that he will be stepping down from the position of president and retire from the company effective November 11, 2007.
Energy Alberta Corporation
Energy Alberta Corporation
Energy Alberta Corporation was created in 2005 to provide nuclear power to the energy-intensive development of the oil sands resources in northern Alberta. The company was founded by Hank Swartout, CEO of Precision Drilling Corporation, and Wayne Henuset, co-owner of Willow Park Wines and Spirits...
announced August 27, 2007 that they had filed application for a license to build a new nuclear plant at Lac Cardinal (30 km west of the town of Peace River. The application would see an initial twin AECL
AECL
AECL is an acronym that can stand for:*Advanced Electronics Company Limited*Atomic Energy of Canada Limited*Australian Egg Corporation Limited...
Advanced CANDU Reactor
Advanced CANDU Reactor
The Advanced CANDU Reactor is a Generation III+ nuclear reactor design and is a further development of existing CANDU reactors designed by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. The ACR is a light-water-cooled reactor that incorporates features of both Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors and Advanced...
(ACR) plant go online in 2017, producing 2.2 gigawatt (electric).
Point Lepreau, New Brunswick Candu 6 plant refurbishment to begin as of April 1, 2008.
In June 2008, the Province of Ontario has announced plans to build two additional commercial reactors for electricity generation at a site next to Ontario Power Generation
Ontario Power Generation
Ontario Power Generation is a public company wholly owned by the Government of Ontario. OPG is responsible for approximately 70% of the electricity generation in the Province of Ontario, Canada. Sources of electricity include nuclear, hydroelectric, solar, wind, and fossil fuel...
's Darlington Nuclear Generating Station
Darlington Nuclear Generating Station
Darlington Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Clarington, Ontario. The facility derives its name from the Township of Darlington, the former name of the municipality in which it is located.The Darlington station is a large...
Two companies, AREVA
Areva
AREVA is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie, Paris. AREVA is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome , Cogema and...
and Westinghouse Electric Company
Westinghouse Electric Company
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC is a nuclear power company, offering a wide range of nuclear products and services to utilities throughout the world, including nuclear fuel, service and maintenance, instrumentation and control and advanced nuclear plant designs...
along with AECL submitted proposals to build the reactors. In June 2009 the province announced that only AECL's ACR-1000 submission met all the proposal requirements. The Ontario government has since suspended the acquisition process citing the cost and uncertainty surrounding the companies future ownership (discussed below).
Medical isotope production using the NRU reactor experienced two forced outages due to safety concerns (December 2007) and a heavy water leak (May 14, 2009). The production from the NRU reactor represents a significant fraction of the worlds medical isotope supply and the disruptions has caused a world-wide shortage. Due to maintenance requirements from the aging NRU reactor and the MAPLE 1 & 2 reactor projects, the long term production of medical isotopes in Canada has become a controversial topic (see below).
2011 privatization
In the summer of 2011 SNC-LavalinSNC-Lavalin
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. is a large Canadian engineering firm. It is one of the ten largest engineering firms in the world and is based in Montreal, Quebec. It formed in 1991 from the merger of SNC and the failing Lavalin, another Quebec based engineering firm....
won an international bidding process for the reactor design division of the company. Prior to the acquisition 10% of SNC Lavalin's international power workforce (400 if 4000) were engaged in the production and refurbishment of nuclear reactors. Concerns raised about the deal include a lack of commitment by SNC-Lavalin to keeping the design division intact (its size makes it more capable of providing ongoing safety support). For 2010 and 2009 combined Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd lost $493 million. Following divestiture of the reactor design division, AECL will consist of the current Nuclear Laboratories division, including the Chalk River laboratory (produces isotopes for medical imaging), and will continue to be a Crown Corporation
Funding deficiencies, safety concerns, political developments
NRUNational Research Universal Reactor
The National Research Universal reactor, located in Chalk River, Ontario, is one of Canada’s national science facilities. It is a multipurpose science facility that serves three main roles....
safety concerns created a political firestorm in December 2007. AECL extended a planned maintenance outage to complete the installation of safety upgrades, after the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission , previously known as the Atomic Energy Control Board , is the governmental nuclear power and materials watchdog in Canada...
(CNSC) confirmed that AECL was out of compliance with its operating licence (granted by the CNSC in August 2006) by not having these safety upgrades completed. It became clear that a misunderstanding had taken place between AECL and the CNSC regarding whether the completion of these safety upgrades was, in fact, a licence condition in the first place. The misunderstanding was partly due to the fact that several communications between AECL and the CSNC in the time period 2005-2007 accurately describe the incomplete nature of the safety upgrades, up to and after the granting of the August 2006 licence.
The one-month shutdown of NRU created a shortage of medical radioisotopes; Canada produces about 60 per cent of the world's supply. Parliament passed emergency legislation, winning all-party support, to order the reactor to be restarted, and NRU resumed operations on December 16, 2007.
Subsequently, federal Conservative Energy and Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn
Gary Lunn
Gary Vincent Lunn, PC, MP is the former Canadian Member of Parliament for the British Columbia riding of Saanich—Gulf Islands. He served in the House of Commons from 1997 to 2011, first as a member of the Reform Party of Canada and subsequently as a member of the Canadian Alliance and the...
indicated in a letter that he wished to fire CNSC chair Linda Keen over the matter. The Ottawa Citizen obtained and published Lunn's letter to Keen on January 8, 2008. Keen responded by going public with her own criticism of Lunn, publishing a letter on CNSC's website on January 9. Canadian media further developed the story.
Under the Financial Administration Act, AECL and other federal Crown corporations are subject to a special examination by the Auditor General of Canada
Auditor General of Canada
The role of the Auditor General of Canada is to aid accountability by conducting independent audits of federal government operations. The Auditor General reports to the House of Commons, not to the government...
http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca once every five years. In September 2007, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada submitted a special examination report to AECL's board of directors, indicating also that the report would be provided to Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn, who oversees AECL at the political level. Fraser's report pinpointed serious government funding deficiencies for AECL, which had held back necessary expansion, upgrading, and replacement of its facilities. Opposition politicians defended Keen, called for Lunn to be fired, and for the report to be made public (Auditor-General's report identified 'deficiency' at AECL, by Juliet O'Neill
Juliet O'Neill
Juliet O'Neill is a Canadian journalist who was the subject of controversy when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police raided her house, in an attempt to find the source of an alleged internal leak giving her access to privileged documents related to the Maher Arar case.In 1996 O'Neill was awarded a...
, The National Post, January 10, 2008, p. A1).
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
backed Lunn, (http://www.theglobeandmail.com, January 10, 2008). and Linda Keen was dismissed as chair of the CNSC at 10pm Tuesday January 15 – 12 hours before she was to appear before a Commons committee. She remains a member of the CNSC board. EdmontonSun, CBC News
On January 29, 2008, the former President of the CNSC, Linda Keen, testified before a Parliamentary Committee that the risk of fuel failure in the NRU reactor was "1 in 1000", and claimed this risk to be a thousand times greater than the "international standard of 1 in one million". These claims are refuted by AECL.
On May 15, 2009, AECL shut down the Chalk River facility to repair heavy water leaks that occurred after a power outage. The shutdown is causing a shortage of medical radioisotopes.
On May 28, 2009 the Harper government announced that they intend to separate out and privatize part of AECL's reactor design assets.
On June 2, 2009, secret government documents on AECL were revealed by CTV news. In the documents it was revealed that the government had spent $1.7 billion on AECL since 2006; that $100 million had been requested by AECL in supplementary funding to keep it solvent and that refurbishment of the Bruce nuclear reactors is "far behind schedule". "Bruce 1 is 324 days late" and "Bruce 2 reactor 433 days late."
On June 10, 2009, Prime Minister Harper announced that Canada will "eventually...be out of the business" of medical isotope production.
On 17 Dec, 2009, Natural Resources Canada Minister Lisa Raitt formally announced the offering of AECL's CANDU engineering division for private investment.
See also
- Electricity sector in Canada
- Canadian government scientific research organizationsCanadian government scientific research organizationsExpenditures by federal and provincial organizations on scientific research and development accounted for about 10% of all such spending in Canada in 2006...
- Canadian university scientific research organizationsCanadian university scientific research organizationsExpenditures by Canadian universities on scientific research and development accounted for about 40% of all spending on scientific research and development in Canada in 2006....
- Canadian industrial research and development organizationsCanadian industrial research and development organizationsExpenditures by Canadian corporations on research and development accounted for about 50% of all spending on scientific research and development in Canada in 2007....