Nuclear reactor removed

You could say it’s been a slow process of removal, painstaking even, but Dalhousie’s SLOWPOKE-2 nuclear reactor is gone.

Purchased in 1976, SLOWPOKE — short for Safe Low Power Critical Experiment — resided in the basement of Dalhousie’s Life Sciences Centre and was used for research until 2008. Chemistry professor Amares Chatt and graduate students used the reactor for neutron activation analysis. But upon Dr. Chatt’s retirement in 2008, the decision was made to decommission the facility.

Shipped out

Once the License to Decommission was approved by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, the physical removal process took about three months to complete. The uranium core, which contained less than a kilogram of uranium, was removed under the cover of darkness one night in February and shipped to AECL Chalk River Laboratories in Ontario.  

Nonradioactive equipment and waste were sent to recycling and water management facilities where they could be reused. As well, some parts of the reactor were taken to be reused by other SLOWPOKE facilities at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal and the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

The project was overseen by a university administrative committee, chaired by Vice-President Finance Ken Burt. Day-to-day oversight was provided by Omar Khartabil, project manager, Facilities Management; Ray Ilson, the director of Dal’s Environmental Health and Safety Office; and SLOWPOKE-2 staff Dr. Chatt, Blaine Zwicker and Ratirot (Pla) Zwicker.

Mr. Ilson notes happily that the decommissioning process was completed successfully and safely.

“The federal regulator and other authorities, including the Nova Scotia Department of Labour and international radiation experts, have visited the site prior to, during and immediately following the decommissioning,” explains Mr. Ilson, who was also involved in the decommissioning of a similar research reactor at the University of Toronto.

“Radiation experts have expressed their satisfaction with the plans, work practices, material handling and safe work procedures throughout the project. Now that the decommissioning has been completed, all radiation hazards associated with the reactor such as fuel and reactor parts have been removed from the university.”

Site cleared out

Decommissioning a nuclear research reactor is a sensitive and unusual task, says Mr. Illson. Making it even more delicate was the fact that SLOWPOKE-2 was located on the campus of a major university located close to downtown Halifax.

“Planning, managing and overseeing the safe and successful decommissioning of such a reactor is a credit to the capabilities and expertise of the Dalhousie University administration and staff,” he adds.

The site has been cleared out, but before the university decides its future use, it must be released by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Approval is expected by the end of the year.