AECL pulls plug on reactors after millions spent

[daleo]

OTTAWA — Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. suffered another embarrassing setback Friday as the country's flagship nuclear corporation when it scrapped the development of two Maple isotope-producing reactors after pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the project.

The federal Crown corporation conducted tests on the reactors this spring and could not find a solution to a design flaw that would make the reactors more prone to a meltdown.

AECL and its private-sector business partner, MDS Nordion Inc., have sunk several hundred million dollars into the development of the Maple reactors, which were meant to secure Canada's dominant position in the market for medical isotopes.

In the past three years alone, AECL spent more than $200-million as it sought an answer to a vexing problem known as a positive power coefficient of reactivity (PCR). The reactor is supposed to have a negative coefficient of reactivity, meaning the nuclear reaction would slow down if the power in the core increased. Instead, the nuclear reaction increased with additional power, heightening the chances of a meltdown.
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