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Transmittal of 3 Copies of a Book Entitled Canada Enters Nuclear

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Transmittal of 3 Copies of a Book Entitled Canada Enters Nuclear V Canada Enters the Nuclear Age, A TechnicalHistory ofAtomic Energy of CanadaLimited as Seen from Its Research Laboratories Written by sixteen of Canada's pioneering nudear scientists, CanadaEnters the Nuclear Age focuses on Canada's nuclear program at AECLeS laboratories at Chalk River, Ontario, and Whiteshell, Manitoba, between the years 1943 and 1985. Topics include the organiza tion and operations of AECL's laboratories, nuclear safety and radiation protection, radioisotopes, basic research, development of the CANDU reactor, and management of radioactive wastes. Not only a valuable historical perspective on Canadian science, CanadaEnters the Nuclear Age also provides useful guidance for innova tive scientific development in the future, a future that will depend on developing and nurturing technically sophisticated industry. ViI AECL R.A. (Bob) Speranzini Chalk River Laboratories Ph.D. Chalk River Ontario General Manager Canada KOJ 1JO (613) 584-8811 + 3215 CANDU Technology Development (613 584-3311 ax 613) 584-9569 speranzinir@aecl.ca www.aecl.ca Canad.! S Atomic Energy of Canada Limited Canada Enters the Nuclear Age Overleaf: Whiteshell Laboratories Chalk River Laboratories mfiý ilorwr T & Canada Enters the Nuclear Age A Technical History of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited Published for Atomic Energy of Canada Limited by McGill-Queen's University Press MONTREAL & KINGSTON 9 LONDON e BUFFALO C Atomic Energy of Canada Limited 1997 ISBN 0-7735-1601-8 Legal deposit first quarter 1997 Biblioth~que nationale du Quebec Printed in Canada on acid-free paper Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Program Main entry under title: Canada enters the nuclear age: a technical history of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 0-7735-1601-8 1. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited-History. 2. Nuclear energy-Research-Canada-History. HD9698.C24A76 1997 621.4'8'072071 C97-900188-9 Contents Foreword vii Preface viii Authors x INTRODUCTION *AND OVERVIEW x Overview of/Nuclear Research and Development I D.G. HURST INFRASTRUCTURE AND LABORATORIES 2 Organization, Management and Operations 33 E. CRITOPH RADIATION PROTECTION AND NUCLEAR SAFETY 3 Radiation Protection 71 A.M. MARKO AND D.K. MYERS 4 Nuclear Reactor Safety Principles 89 F.C. BOYD RADIOISOTOPES 5 Radioisotopes 97 B. ULLYETT BASIC RESEARCH 6 Basic Research: An Introduction 113 G.C. HANNA 7 Chemistry and Materials Science 117 T.A. EASTWOOD 8 Physics 137 J.C.D. MILTON 9 Accelerators and Fusion 169 G.C. HANNA CANDU DEVELOPMENT io CANDU and its Evolution I9I H.K. RAE Ii Reactor Physics and Control 215 M.F. DURET AND H.K. RAE 12 Fuel Channels 233 C.E. ELLS 13 Fuel 254 A.S. BAIN 14 Heat Transport System 276 H.K. RAE 15 Safety Research and Development 294 R.E. GREEN 16 Boiling-Light-Water and Organic-Cooled CAND U Reactors 319 R.G. HART 17 Heavy Water 333 H.K. RAE i8 Advanced Fuel Cycles 353 R.G. HART WASTE MANAGEMENT 19 Waste Management 367 R.G. HART ADAPTING TO A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT 2o Business Development, Revenue Generation and the Impact of Change 391 R.G. HART A RETROSPECTIVE 21 Learning from History 407 J.A.L. ROBERTSON .Index 419 vii As president of AECL in 1989, I was delighted when a number of retirees and Foreword elder statesmen came forward with a proposal for a technical history of the com pany. The time was opportune, they said, to produce a record of the research and development that had set the stage for Canada's notable contributions to the peaceful applications of nuclear energy. Not only was their enthusiasm inspiring, but as some of Canada's nuclear pioneers, their experience and knowledge made them the ideal authors of this chronicle. They have done an outstanding job in portraying the challenges of a unique and exciting quest to develop a complex and demanding technology. The dawn of Canada's eminent achievements in nuclear development was al most a century ago, when New Zealand physicist Ernest Rutherford came to McGill University in 1898. He had just discovered that the radiation emitted by uranium and its compounds were of two types which he called alpha and beta rays. (A third type, gamma rays, was discovered by Paul Villard in Paris two years later.) These terms are still used. In 1901 Rutherford was joined at McGill by Brit ish chemist Frederick Soddy. Their brief partnership produced nine important publications which showed that radioactivity involves the transformation of one element into another. Canada's more formal entry into the nuclear age came forty years later, in Sep tember 1942, when it was agreed that the heavy water and uranium oxide re search that was being done at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, England, would be moved to Canada. And so began an era of intensive research and devel opment that ultimately made a demanding technology into a safe, reliable and beneficial one. The many facets of nuclear research and development are meticulously de scribed in this book. Despite the modesty of the authors one can discern the im pressive creativity, the tenacity, the intellectual capacity, and the dignity that underlay an achievement that would be marked with such accolades as a Nobel Prize and a place among Canada's top ten engineering accomplishments. Many of the attainments of AECL's laboratories are significant milestones in the history of Canadian science. Not only that, they gave Canadian research global stature and provided world-leading products and services. It's a story that had to be written while the footprint of pioneering research and development is still conspicuous. It's the story of a venture that sprang from a vision, that persisted with a sustained sense of purpose, and that succeeded through dedication and talent. As a historical perspective it provides useful guidance for innovative sci entific development in the future. The story deserved to be written and it de serves to be read. Stanley R. Hatcher The appearance of Robert Bothwells book, Nucleus: The History ofAtomiC Energy Preface of CanadaLimited, which was largely a corporate and political history dealing with applied and industrial achievements, triggered interest in the preparation of a complementary technical history. In early 1989, Don Hurst, a former AECL employee and former president of the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB), wrote a letter to AECL formally suggesting that such a technical history be pre pared. The importance of timing was recognized since the main participants from the early days, whose recollections would be of great value, were disappearing from the scene. AECL approved and sponsored the project, assigning the task of co-ordinating the preparation of the history to an employee, Gene Critoph (who retired in 1992 but maintained a coordinating function). A TechnicalHistoryofA.ECL Committee (THAC) was established to oversee the project. Over its lifetime THAC has had the following membership: Members: AECL retirees:A.S. Bain, J.H. Collins, E. Critoph (chair), M.F. Duret, T.A. Eastwood, C.E. Ells, R.E. Green, G.C. Hanna, R.G. Hart, A.M. Marko, J.C.D. Milton, D.K. Myers, H.K. Rae, J.A.L. Robertson, B. Ullyett. AECB retirees:.RC. Boyd, D.G. Hurst. Correspondingmembers: G.L. Brooks (AECL retiree), D. Evans (Nordion), M. Tomlinson (AECL retiree), N.H. Sagert (AECL). THAC held the'first of more than a score of meetings in 1989 November. THAC created targets for the end product of the project, including i) that the book be suitable for an audience of educated laypersons with special interests in science, and ii) that it give a balanced treatment of the various technical activities within its scope. THAC established an outline for the book that included a detailed list of suggested topics for each section. Each member of THAC then undertook responsibility for the preparation of part of the book, and provided valuable criticism to other authors on their contributions. THAC, as a whole, reviewed suc cessive drafts of each submission. Over the period 1991-92 a consultant, D. Peirce of PJ. Spratt & Associates, was engaged to assist any author requesting help in improving comprehensibility, readability and interest for their contribution. THAC made numerous decisions regarding the style and structure of the book. Examples of the more controversial decisions were: i) to limit to very few the names that would appear in the text, in the interest of fairness to all, and ii) to keep formal references to an absolute minimum to improve readability. ix In general this history extends from the late forties to 1985. individual chapters accept responsibility for content, but have, in general, sought the views of former colleagues. While it is The year 1985 seemed appropriate as a nominal closing date in hoped that readers will go through the entire book, many may view of the major restructuring that was implemented in 1986. wish to concentrate on particular sections. Nevertheless, every Where significant events have occurred in the ensuing nine to read chapter one, which provides an overview and years, these are treated briefly. one is urged a context for the more detailed chapters that follow, and also The point of view adopted for this book is a research-and chapter twenty-one, the retrospective on learning from history. development (R&D) one, with the main focus on the role of Many people have contributed to the preparation and pro AECL's laboratories at Chalk River and Whiteshell in the Cana duction of this volume. In addition to the specific contributions dian nuclear program. Therefore the non-R&D aspects of AECL's to the actual writing of the book that are acknowledged by the role are not fully treated, and other parts of the nuclear indus authors within their own sections, we collectively acknowledge try are mentioned only inasmuch as they affected AECL.
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