Chalk River, 2009 July 29
— The following information bulletin is in accordance with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's (AECL) ongoing commitment to voluntary public disclosure of events related to the Chalk River Laboratories (CRL).
Work continues with specialized vendors on proving repair tooling designs, fabrication of equipment, and cleaning techniques.
A detailed analysis of the Non Destructive Examination (NDE) data collected to date continues. Results of this analysis have been provided to the vendors to support their tooling development. The NDE team has initiated high-resolution scans of the vessel using the Mark I tool. The deployment of the new Mark II tool is scheduled for early August.
Cleaning of the annulus surrounding the vessel commenced during the week of July 19th. Since that time the entire annulus space has been flushed and progress has been made on annulus vacuuming.
Fabrication of a full height mock-up of the reactor vessel components is nearing completion; the mock-up will be assembled in the former NRX reactor building later this week. The mock-up will serve to train employees on the specialized repair tools and to demonstrate that all of the equipment is qualified to perform the necessary repairs.
Evidence collected to date continues to support AECL’s belief that the necessary vessel repairs can be made and that NRU will be returned to service. The duration of the shutdown continues to be founded on the best evidence available, including the most up-to-date analysis of the inspection data, progress on repair strategies, and critical path requirements for restart after an extended shutdown.
Further guidance on a return to service date will be provided as more data is collected and analyzed, and the decision is made about the repair technique and extent of required repairs.
AECL continues to work very closely with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), and CNSC safety inspectors are directly involved at the Chalk River site.
There is no threat to workers, the public, the environment or nuclear safety related to this event. More information on the repair and status updates on the NRU is available at www.nrucanada.ca
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For more information contact:
Dale Coffin
Director, Corporate Communications
AECL, 1-866-886-(AECL) 2325