SLOWPOKE-2 Facility News

September - The SLOWPOKE-2 reactor was refuelled for the first time in coordination with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and in compliance with all relevant regulatory agencies and under the existing license agreement with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Completing the refuelling was a highly specialized team skilled in reactor physics and fuels, environmental remediation measures, and security and radiation protection to ensure the safety and success of this operation. The refuelled reactor can continue to operate for 30+ years.

August - The SLOWPOKE-2 reactor core was removed and shipped it to Chalk River waste management facility in accordance with CNSC guidelines. The reactor was then commissioned with a newly fabricated core manufactured at the Canadian Nuclear Laboratory.

Despite of the COVID-19 pandemic work continues at the SLOPWOKE-2 Facility. RMC directed their employees to work from home and avoid coming into their offices and laboratories.  However, both Dr. Chan and Dr. Samuleev were granted special permission to be physically present at RMC for a couple of days a week.

Coronavirus protection measures for SLOWPOKE staff and employees was initiated and maintained.  In addition to wearing face masks, providing hand sanitizer, and instituting physical distancing, employees were working on different days or, if not suitable, in different rooms. As a result of measures taken, none of the SLOWPOKE-2 Facility staff, operators, and users were infected with SARS-Cov-2 virus.

RMC and the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) continue working on the refueling of the SLOWPOKE-2 reactor at RMC. The refueling project is on schedule. However, there are some impacts from COVID-19 which principally affect on-site product verification and inspection. It is expected that reactor will be refueled by the end of the summer of 2021 and the whole process should take approximately 8 weeks.

Due to the COVID-19 restrictions Facility tours were limited. Slightly more than 100 cadets had a chance to visit the Facility prior to start of the pandemic.

CNSC License Compliance Inspection was completed on 21st of February 2019. The inspection contained nineteen points of verification in ten Safety and Control Areas and the Public Information Program. As a result of inspection, no compliance actions were raised. CNSC staff noted some areas where improvements to best practices could be implemented for the benefit of the facility and personnel.

RMC continues working on the refuelling project for the SLOWPOKE-2 Facility. The Government of Canada has awarded a contract to Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) to refuel the SLOWPOKE-2 nuclear reactor. The work started in July 2019. The contract will span 30 months. The first 24 months will involve material procurement, process qualification, and core fabrication. The remaining six months will include the removal of the old core, commissioning the reactor with a newly fabricated core, transfer of the spent core to a licensed nuclear waste management facility at CNL, and completion of project closeout documentation.

The SLOWPOKE-2 Facility had a Type II Security Inspection by the CNSC Security Section on October 23rd, 2019. CNSC Security team pointed out two actions and six recommendations of how to improve security in and around the Facility as a result of the inspection. The inspection findings are confidential and cannot be listed in the media. The SLOWPOKE-2 Facility team at RMC is working on addressing these findings with tentative completion date December 2021.

RMC SLOWPOKE-2 Facility had a PIV(Physical Inventory Verification) and DIV (Design Inventory Verification) inspections by IAEA (International Atomic Energy Association) on November 1st, 2019. The results of both inspections were satisfactory with no actions or recommendations issued.

In 2019 SLOWPOKE-2 personnel provided tours of the Facility to more than 360 visitors from military and non-military organisations as well as members of general public.