SNC-Lavalin decommissioning research nuclear reactor in Saskatoon
July 23, 2018
By
CCE
The Safe Low-Power Kritical Experiment (SLOWPOKE-2) research reactor has operated in Saskatchewan Research Council’s Environmental Analytical Laboratories in Saskatoon for 37 years.
Candu Energy Inc., a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, has been selected to provide decommissioning services for the Saskatchewan Research Council’s (SRC) Safe Low-Power Kritical Experiment (SLOWPOKE-2) research reactor.
The design of the SLOWPOKE-2 reactor is inherently safe and poses a very low risk. For 37 years, the reactor has operated safely in SRC’s Environmental Analytical Laboratories in Saskatoon.
“We have successfully decommissioned similar reactors at Dalhousie University and the University of Alberta in recent years, and our track record speaks to our commitment to the Saskatchewan Research Council that its SLOWPOKE-2 reactor will be safely retired in the most environmentally responsible manner,” said Sandy Taylor, president, nuclear at SNC-Lavalin in a company release.
SRC’s SLOWPOKE-2 nuclear reactor was mainly used as an analytical tool for neutron activation analysis to determine uranium and other elemental concentrations in a wide variety of sample types.
Developed by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) in the 1960s, SLOWPOKE-2 reactors support nuclear education and research.
