aecl redirects here . for other uses see aecl disambiguation . atomic energy of canada limited type crown corporation industry nuclear power research founded 1952 key people robert walker president and ceo revenue 574 million can 2006 number of employees 3 200 worldwide website www.aecl.ca atomic energy of canada limited 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 . citation needed 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 . 1 2 3 4 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 . 5 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 . 6 the government will continue to own the chalk river laboratories produces isotopes for medical imaging . 7 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 8 from uranium fuelled . 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 . 9 omers has also shown interest in the company . 1 contents 1 history 1.1 1940s 1.2 1950s 1.3 1960s 1.4 1970s 1.5 1980s 1.6 2000s 1.7 2011 divestiture 2 see also 3 references 4 external links history edit 1940s edit aecl traces its heritage to the second world war when a joint canadian british nuclear research laboratory the montreal laboratory was established in montreal in 1942 under the national research council of canada to develop a design for a nuclear reactor . 10 canadian firms had american contracts from the manhattan project ; with eldorado gold mines for mining and processing uranium ore and with by consolidated mining and smelting cms for a heavy water plant at trail british columbia . 11 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 . 12 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 . 12 1950s edit 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 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 . 1 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 . the nru opened in 1957 . 13 on november 3 citation needed 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 . 2 3 a few men were over exposed to radiation but no direct injuries resulted from aecl s two accidents . 1960s edit in 1954 aecl partnered with the hydro electric power commission of ontario to build canada s first nuclear power plant 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 organically moderated and cooled reactor was built . later work on developing a slowpoke reactor thorium fuel cycle and a proposal for safe storage of radioactive 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 . 1970s edit in 1971 the first commercial candu reactor pickering 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 . 4 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 . 1980s edit between 1983 and 1986 the pickering b group went online and also in 1983 the single candu reactor at point lepreau 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 eventually recalled by aecl after multiple denials that the problems existed . between 1990 and 1993 the 4 candu reactors at darlington 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 . the first reactor was started but did not satisfy some safety requirements . aecl halted the project in 2008 . unit 1 of the cernavod nuclear power plant was commissioned on december 2 1996 . rated at 706 mwe