A History of the Atomic Energy Control Board Gordon H.E. Sims O3 « 3OG a.51 1O (ii;ORGF V ith 'J:<- a 1 i% 2. In U.:. A( (a 1 • :.u,::,. y £*?: thrc-i- of this Act; A History of the Atomic Energy Control Board GORDON H.E. SIMS Ottawa JULY 1980 INFO-0026 ©Minister of Supply and Services Canada 1981 Available in Canada through Authorized Bookstore Agents and other bookstores or by mail from Canadian Government Publishing Centre Supply and Services Canada Hull, Quebec, Canada K1A0S9 Catalogue No. CC172-3/1981E Canada: $8.00 ISBN 0-660-10812-7 Other Countries: $9.60 Price subject to change without notice i A t Foreword Aristotle's admonition that "In practical life, particular facts count more than generalizations'1 is all too often overlooked by modern writers. In this account of the events and decisions which led to the establishment of the Atomic Energy Control Board in 1946, and which subsequently shaped its evolving role as the federal nuclear regulatory agency, Gordon Sims has carefully searched through hundreds of documents and interviewed dozens of persons in order to ensure that particular facts about the Board could be presented and generalizations avoided. Perhaps one of the most important results of his work has been to reveal the constraints within which the Board has operated during the past three decades and the interplay of Government policies which both prompted and prevented certain initiatives. The early decision of the Canadian Government to limit the role of the Board will be seen to have influenced fls actions for many years. Subsequently, a broader interpretation of Government regulations led to policies and actions which reflected the increasing concerns of many Canadians with nuclear issues. The vociferous debate over nuclear weapons proliferation, reactor safety and radioactive waste management has resulted in extensive reference to the Board by the media. Clearly there is a need for the Board to build upon the initiatives which it has taken during the past few years and thus reinforce the growing public confidence that the Board is not only fulfilling its respon- sibilities, but ready and willing to be held accountable for its performance. Gordon Sims' efforts to document in a readable and straight forward manner the past actions of the Board, and its role within the context of overall Government policies, constitutes a significant contribution to understanding the activities of the Board in regulating the use of nuclear energy. J.H. JENNEKENS President Atomic Energy Control Board in Acknowledgements The Atomic Energy Control Board, who commissioned this history, allowed me unlimited access to the Board's files and any other documents in their possession it was necessary to consult, and they also allowed me to talk to any member of their staff. They then gave me a free hand to write this history in any way that I chose. This does not mean that I have not been in the receipt of critical editorial and factual comment. Drafts of the chapters have been circulated to experts on the Board staff and they have provided me with valuable comment and factual correction. Past Presidents of the Board have also read most of the manuscript in draft form and they too have offered most useful information. To all those who have contributed in this way I would like to express my thanks since they have improved this history immeasurably. I would particularly like to thank F.C. Boyd and M. Joyce of the Board staff who both read early versions of all the drafts and made many helpful contributions. Despite the help I have received, any errors and omissions are my responsibility and in particular the interpretation and comment, which inevitably are to be found in a work such as this, are my own. I have experienced no pressure from any source within the Board to delete or modify any part of the manuscript. For some time now the AECB has been committed to a policy of open information towards the public. I hope this history will be taken as an expression of that policy in action. G.H.E.S. Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. PRE-HISTORYOFTHE AECB 5 3. CREATION OFTHE AECB 19 The Canadian Atomic Energy Control Act 24 The USA and UK Atomic Energy Control Acts 26 4. EARLY OPERATIONS OFTHE BOARD 33 Regulations 35 Mining — Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited 37 Research — The Chalk River Project 41 5. SUBSEQUENT EVOLUTION OFTHE BOARD 47 The Board's Presidents 48 The Board's Regulations 53 The Board's Staff 55 6. AECB AND ATOMIC ENERGY RESEARCH 59 AECB and the ChqRiver Project 59 AECB Research Grants and Contracts 66 7. AECB AND THE URANIUM INDUSTRY 77 History of the Industry 77 Health Problems in the Uranium Industry 85 Introduction 85 Contamination of Lakes and Rivers 86 The Problem of Radon and its Daughters 89 The Role ofthe AECB 92 Contamination at Port Hope 95 Uranium Exports 100 The Role ofthe AECB 105 8. AECB AND THE NUCLEAR POWER INDUSTRY 113 Introduction 113 The Nuclear Power Reactor Industry 114 History of Canada's Power Reactor Program 114 The AECB and the Power Reactor Industry 117 The Heavy Water Industry 132 Introduction 132 A History of Heavy Water Production in Canada 134 The Role ofthe AECB 136 vn Chapter Page The Radioactive Waste Industry 140 Introduction 140 The Role of the AECB 145 The Radioactive Waste Safety Advisory Committee 149 The Reactor Fuel Industry 150 Introduction 150 The Roleof the AECB 152 9. AECB AND THE RADIOISOTOPE AND TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRIES 161 History of the Industry 161 The Role of the AECB 166 Radioisotopes 167 Transportation 169 10. AECB AND NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION 177 Introduction 177 SECRECY 179 SECURITY 181 SAFEGUARDS 183 Evolution of International Safeguards 183 Evolution of Canada's Safeguards 186 1945.74 186 The CIRUS Reactor 190 1974-Present 196 The Role of the AECB 198 11. SOME CURRENT PROBLEMS AND LEGISLATIVE REFORM 205 Introduction 205 The Provisions of Bill C-14 207 APPENDIX 1. Presidents and Members of the Atomic Energy Control Board 217 2. Financial Development of the AECB 218 3. Glossary 219 4. A Chronology of Significant Events , 222 vni CHAPTER 1 Introduction The Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) is a regulatory agency set up by the Government of Canada under the Atomic Energy Control Act of 1946 to assist the Government in its efforts "... to make provision for the control and supervision of the development, application and use of atomic energy and to enable Canada to participate effectively in measures of international control of atomic energy". (1) The Board itself consists of a full-time President and four part-time members assisted by a staff which has increased from three professional members in 1946 to nearly 200 professional and support staff today. The mandate conferred on the AECB by the Atomic Energy Control Act to "control" and "develop" atomic energy was broad and skeletal. This was an inevitable consequence of the subject matter of the legislation. The Act was passed into law a year after nuclear explosives had reduced large areas of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to kindling and the horror of these two explosions hy heavily on the world. Atomic energy was seen as an unknown force capable of either shaping man's destiny or destroying it. It was clear that the potential for shaping should be developed but it was also clear that the potential for destruction had to be controlled. Since the rigidities implied by control could hamper the freedom required for development, a balance would have to be maintained between the two and the Act was designed to provide the latitude within which this balance could be achieved. The success of the Act in this respect can be judged from the rate and diversity of growth of atomic energy in Canada over the last thirty-five years which has been achieved under the regulatory auspices of the Act. For some years after the end of the Second World War the secrecy which had surrounded Canada's atomic energy activities was maintained but gradually, as increasing research led to the development of peaceful uses of atomic energy, the secrecy was lifted and the orientation of the Government's attitude changed from control to development. The AECB was thrust into a role of regulating the expansion of a commercial atomic energy program in Canada. During this period commercial nuclear power became first a possibility and then a reality, materials in support of nuclear power such as uranium and heavy water were produced in hitherto unheard of quantities and the use of radioisotopes in medicine, industry and research created a flourishing new industry in Canada. 1 The development of atomic energy in Canada is a fascinating story in its own right and one which has not been adequately told. The early years of this story, up to the beginning of the 1960s, have been described by Wilfrid Eggleston in his Canada's Nuclear Story (2), but this work stops at a point where the nuclear power industry has completed its first development phase and stands poised for take-off into an uncertain commercial future. In the years since Eggleston's book appeared the Canadian nuclear power industry has struggled to convert a brilliantly conceived and executed development project into an equally successful commercial reality, with uneven results. Without an adequate history of the nuclear industry (3), which was the object of the AECB's regulatory focus, it has been necessary in this work to provide outline histories of the development of certain segments of the industry and these have been placed at the beginning of the relevant sections.