Atomic Energy of Canada (AECL) this week confirmed that its nuclear reactor in Chalk River, Ontario, can be repaired and will eventually come back online.
There was some speculation that the 52-year-old facility would not return to service after a major leak forced its shutdown in May.
In a written statement, AECL noted: "Evidence collected to date continues to support AECL's view that the necessary vessel repairs can be made and that [the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor] will be returned to service."
Two weeks ago, AECL confirmed nine locations within the reactor that "likely" require repair, and this week the company used a special tool to inspect areas of the reactor that were previously inaccessible. AECL has built a full-height replica of the reactor to test repair processes.
Earlier this month, AECL delayed the anticipated restart of the Chalk River reactor to the first quarter of 2010, which will continue to exacerbate the shortage of the radioisotope molybdenum-99.
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