NRU back in April at the earliest
25 February 2010
The earliest possible return-to-service date for Canada's National Research Unit (NRU) reactor is still April, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL) has announced in its latest update on repairs to the stricken research reactor. With 43% of repair activities and associated post-repair examinations now complete, some activities (remote cleaning of the central area of the reactor vessel floor and repositioning of core components in preparation for restart) have been brought forward. Preparations for the final - and most complex - part of the repair sequence, the installation of plates welded to the vessel wall and the application of horizontal weld build-up, is now under way. NRU, which produces a major share of the world's medical isotopes, has been off line since the discovery of a minor leak of heavy water from its tank in May 2009.