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77-514: NRX experienced one of the world's first major reactor accidents on 12 December 1952. The reactor began operation on 22 July 1947 under the National Research Council of Canada , and was taken over by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) shortly before the 1952 accident. The accident was cleaned up and the reactor restarted within two years. NRX operated for 45 years, then shut down permanently on 30 March 1993. Decommissioning

154-567: A World War II cooperative effort between Britain , the United States , and Canada , NRX was a multipurpose research reactor used to develop new isotopes, test materials and fuels, and produce neutron radiation beams, that became an indispensable tool in the blossoming field of condensed matter physics . The nuclear physics design of NRX emerged from the Montreal Laboratory of Canada's National Research Council , which

231-487: A semiconductor commonly used in light-emitting diodes . The GaN Electronics Program supports partner research and development activities with a goal of ensuring that GaN technology will create wealth and a greener future for Canadians. The NRC is the only Canadian foundry for GaN electronics, and offers both normally-on and normally-off devices. The GaN500v2 Foundry Design Kit was released on June 28, 2014. The NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program ( NRC-IRAP )

308-529: A 23-month period during which NRC management was aware that the organization was contaminating the water table outside its fire-safety testing facility in Mississippi Mills, Ontario , with perfluorinated chemicals used in firefighting foams and did not inform that community's inhabitants. John McDougall's departure – signalled by a sudden, three-line email to employees in March 2016 announced that he

385-461: A NRC $ 35,750 grant. NRC's fleet of research and test aircraft The NRC has a fleet of nine aircraft for their research purposes: NRC's past fleet of research and test aircraft Former aircraft include other models of the nine listed above and the following: Research aircraft Several Nobel laureates have been associated with the NRC at various points of their careers, including: Under

462-551: A budget of approximately $ 97 million (2013–2018), the Canadian Wheat Alliance will be conducting research on improving the yield of Canadian wheat crops and on the most efficient use of chemical fertilizers. Working with breeders and scientists at the Crop Development Centre and at AAFC, they will be integrating long-term research with genetic improvement of wheat. Gallium nitride (GaN) is

539-463: A change in research focus away from basic research and towards industry-relevant research. This included the development of multiple programs which shifted the research budget out of existing projects and into a number of focused programs. In October 2012, John McDougall and his appointment, Dr. Ian Potter (VP Business Management), served termination notices to all of the NRC's Business Development Officer's (BDOs) across Canada, which ultimately impacted

616-466: A company involved in lobbying for the development of an algae system to recycle carbon emissions. The NRC was not involved in this area of research prior to the arrival of McDougall. The Canadian Wheat Improvement Program is a "strategic collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), the University of Saskatchewan ’s Crop Development Centre and the province of Saskatchewan." With

693-573: A crack in a weld of the reactor's reflector system. This water was being systematically collected, purified in an on-site Waste Treatment Centre, and eventually released to the Ottawa River in accordance with CNSC, Health Canada, and Ministry of the Environment regulations. Although the leakage was not a concern to the CNSC from a health, safety or environmental perspective, AECL made plans for

770-476: A further power increase. About 14 seconds later valves were manually opened to drain the heavy water moderator from the calandria. As this took some time to become effective, power increased for 5 more seconds, peaked at an estimated 100 MW, then went down as the moderator level decreased and was at zero 25 seconds later. The whole accident, from low to high to zero power took about 108 seconds. Meanwhile, some fuel elements melted and were pierced in several places;

847-516: A meltdown. The reactor and the reactor building were seriously damaged by hydrogen explosions. The seal of the reactor vessel was blown up four feet, and 4,500 cubic metres (1,200,000 US gal) of radioactive water were found in the cellar of the building. This water was dumped in ditches around 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) from the border of the Ottawa River . During this accident some 10 kilocuries (400  TBq ) of radioactive material

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924-534: A partnership between AECL and Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario , went online in 1962 near the site of Chalk River Laboratories. This reactor, Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD), was a demonstration of the CANDU reactor design, one of the world's safest and most successful nuclear reactors. The Deep River neutron monitor operated once in Chalk river. Chalk River was also the site of two nuclear accidents in

1001-638: A professor at McMaster University , received the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physics for his pioneering work in neutron spectroscopy while at CRL from 1950 to 1962. Sir John Cockcroft was an early director of CRL and also a Nobel laureate . Until the shutdown of its nuclear reactor in 2018, CRL produced a large share of the world's supply of medical radioisotopes . It is owned by the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories subsidiary of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and operated under contract by

1078-464: A repair to reduce the current leakage rate for operational reasons. In mid-May 2009, the heavy water leak at the base of the NRU reactor vessel, first detected in 2008 (see above), returned at a greater rate and prompted another temporary shutdown that lasted until August 2010. The lengthy shutdown was necessary to first completely defuel the entire reactor, then ascertain the full extent of the corrosion to

1155-425: A robotic crane, one of the rods with metallic uranium was pulled out of the reactor vessel. When the arm of the crane moved away from the vessel, the uranium caught fire and the rod broke. The largest part of the rod fell down into the containment vessel, still burning. The whole building was contaminated. The valves of the ventilation system were opened, and a large area outside the building was contaminated. The fire

1232-458: Is a Canadian nuclear research facility in Deep River , about 180 km (110 mi) north-west of Ottawa . CRL is a site of major research and development to support and advance nuclear technology, particularly CANDU reactor technology. CRL has expertise in physics, metallurgy, chemistry, biology, and engineering, and hosts unique research facilities. For example, Bertram Brockhouse ,

1309-577: Is commonly used with no relation to the Chalk River plant. On December 12, 1952, the NRX reactor suffered a partial meltdown due to operator error and mechanical problems in the shut-off systems. For test purposes, some of the fuel channels had been disconnected from high-pressure water cooling and were connected by hoses to a temporary cooling system; one low-power channel was cooled only by airflow. During tests at low power, with low coolant flux through

1386-425: Is governed by two main processes. First, the water slows down ( moderates ) the neutrons which are produced by nuclear fission, increasing the chances of the high energy neutrons causing further fission reactions. Second, control rods absorb neutrons and adjust the power level or shut down the reactor in the course of normal operation. Either inserting the control rods or removing the heavy water moderator can stop

1463-698: Is set out in the National Research Council Act . Under the Act, the NRC is responsible for: Over 5,000 people across Canada are employed by the NRC. In addition, the NRC also employs guest workers from universities, companies, and public and private-sector organizations. The National Research Council was established in 1916, under the pressure of World War I , to advise the government on matters of science and industrial research. In 1932, laboratories were built on Sussex Drive in Ottawa and

1540-518: Is the primary national agency of the Government of Canada dedicated to science and technology research and development . It is the largest federal research and development organization in Canada. The Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development (currently, François-Philippe Champagne ) is responsible for the NRC. NRC is an agency of the Government of Canada , and its mandate

1617-442: Is to provide a completely isolated environment that, according to Barton, registers a noise level that is less than 0dB. (0dB is a statistical average of the lowest level of human hearing.) Wedges made from fibreglass are inside the chamber, and they help create the reflection-free environment. No sound gets in, none gets out, and what occurs within gets completely absorbed with nary a bounce. From 2002 to 2006, John R. McDougall , who

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1694-561: Is underway at the Chalk River Laboratories site. NRX was the successor to Canada's first reactor, ZEEP . Because the operating life of a research reactor was not expected to be very long, in 1948 planning started for construction of a successor facility, the National Research Universal reactor , which started self-sustained operation (or "went critical") in 1957. A heavy water moderated reactor

1771-620: The Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Research Facilities . In May 2023, it was announced that the world's first micro-modular reactor , from Global First Power (GFP), is to be built at Chalk River Laboratories and will be used to power the CNL campus as a demonstration unit. It is then expected that multiple microreactors, each the size of a shipping container , will be built at CNL and transported to remote northern communities where they will replace

1848-660: The Montreal Laboratory , and later the Chalk River Laboratories in Ontario. Post-WWII, the NRC reverted to its pre-war civilian role, and a number of wartime activities were spun off to newly formed organizations. Military research continued under a new organization, the Defence Research Board , while inventions with commercial potential were transferred to the newly formed Canadian Patents and Development Limited ; and atomic research went to

1925-741: The Neilson Report , which recommended across-the-board financial cuts to all federal government organizations, including the NRC. This led to staff and program cutbacks. By 1985, however, two entities emerged from the National Research Council: the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (see SSHRC Act) and the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (See NSERC Act). The emergence of these Councils, for all material reasons, took over funding from

2002-445: The safeguard bank while the other eight were controlled in an automatic sequence. Two pushbuttons on the main panel in the control room activated magnets to seal the rods to the pneumatic system, and the pushbutton to cause the pneumatic insertion of the rods into the core was located a few feet away. NRX was for a time the world's most powerful research reactor , vaulting Canada into the forefront of physics research. Emerging from

2079-469: The 1950s. The first incident occurred on December 12, 1952, when there was a power excursion and partial loss of coolant in the NRX reactor, which resulted in significant damage to the core. The control rods could not be lowered into the core because of mechanical problems and human errors. Three rods did not reach their destination and were taken out again by accident. The fuel rods were overheated, resulting in

2156-588: The 1952 accident advanced the field of reactor safety significantly, and the concepts it highlighted (diversity and independence of safety systems, guaranteed shutdown capability, efficiency of man-machine interface ) became fundamentals of reactor design. The incident was the world's first severe nuclear reactor accident. 46°03′06″N 77°21′49″W  /  46.05167°N 77.36361°W  / 46.05167; -77.36361 National Research Council of Canada The National Research Council Canada ( NRC ; French : Conseil national de recherches Canada )

2233-426: The CNSC for this shutdown which "jeopardized the health and safety of tens of thousands of Canadians", insisting that there was no risk, contrary to the testimony of then CNSC President & CEO Linda Keen. She would later be fired for ignoring a decision by Parliament to restart the reactor, reflecting its policy that the safety of citizens requiring essential nuclear medicine should be taken into account in assessing

2310-541: The Canadian National Energy Alliance, a private-sector consortium led by AtkinsRéalis . In 1952, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) was created by the government to promote peaceful use of nuclear energy. AECL also took over operation of Chalk River from the NRC. Since the 1950s, various nuclear research reactors have been operated by AECL for production of nuclear material for medical and scientific applications. At one point in time,

2387-488: The Canadian press have dropped 80 per cent. The union that represents federal scientists and other professionals has, for the first time in its history, abandoned neutrality to campaign against Mr. Harper. The appointment by Harper's Minister of State (Science and Technology) Gary Goodyear of John McDougall as President of the NRC was followed by several controversies: In 2011, President John McDougall began to oversee

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2464-530: The Cesium Beam atomic clock in the 1960s. Since 1974, Paul Barton of PSB Speakers used the NRC's world-class measurement facilities, their anechoic chamber. By the 1980s, more companies began to use this resource, develop it further, and tested their loudspeakers at the NRC. Electrical engineer, Floyd E. Toole, who worked at the NRC was at the centre of this research. By the year 2000, most companies had their own sound chambers, but Barton continued to use

2541-592: The Chalk River Laboratories produced about one-third of the world's medical isotopes , and about half of the North American supply. Despite the declaration of peaceful use, from 1955 to 1985, Chalk River facilities supplied about 254.2 kilograms (560 lb) of plutonium , in the form of spent reactor fuel, to the U.S. Department of Energy to be used in the production of nuclear weapons. (The bomb dropped on Nagasaki , Japan, used about 6.4 kilograms (14 lb) of plutonium.) Canada's first nuclear power plant ,

2618-667: The Federal Government and is responsible for relaying that to Academic Institutions, Academic hospitals and Research Institutions under the Agreement on the Administration of Agency Grants and Awards by Research Institutions, administered by a Secretariat (on the Responsible Conduct of Research). In 2000, there were about 1000 NRC researchers with PhDs conducting research in many areas. Recovery

2695-503: The Medical Research Committee was formed with Dr. Frederick Banting as the inaugural Chair. With the impetus of World War II , the NRC grew rapidly and for all practical purposes, became a military science and weapons research organization. It undertook a number of important projects, which included participation with the United States and United Kingdom , in the development of chemical and germ warfare agents,

2772-567: The NRC had over 30 approved programs, including the following. The following are the NRC's various research centres and their areas of R&D: Former facilities: The goal of the Algal Carbon Conversion Pilot Program was to develop of an algae system to recycle carbon emissions from the oil sands . It contained plans for a $ 19-million facility to be constructed in Alberta, in partnership between

2849-726: The NRC intended to shorten the gap between early stage research and development and commercialization. During his tenure as president, there was a drop in research publications and new patents from the NRC as the scientific staff was cut significantly. An article published in April 2016 and based on information from the office of the Minister of Science gave the following figures for the period 2011–2015: Chalk River Laboratories Chalk River Laboratories ( French : Laboratoires de Chalk River ; also known as CRL , Chalk River Labs and formerly Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories , CRNL )

2926-424: The NRC to hire a young graphics design graduate to work on their "CUROS" people management software. Oasys Healthcare, a company that provides "innovative audio and video solutions for the medical marketplace" received a $ 13,000 NRC grant for its new technology for operating rooms. Jeffrey Ross Jewellery's product called Dimples, imprints fingerprints in silver using an innovative process and material, developed through

3003-704: The NRC were handed over to the newly formed Medical Research Council of Canada . By 1960, the Medical Research Committee had separated from the National Research Council, forming the Medical Research Council of Canada (which dissolved upon the creation of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research [ and the initial withdrawal from the National Reserve in 1997 (see Budget Implementation Act 1997), which

3080-513: The NRC's facilities. In about 1990, PSB and other Canadian companies worked with the NRC on Athena to evaluate digital signal processing (DSP) for loudspeaker design. The metal walls of the NRC’s anechoic chamber are located about a foot and a half from the internal walls that surround it. The whole chamber is suspended on springs. This makes it a building within the M-37 building. The purpose of all this

3157-430: The NRC, Canadian Natural Resources , and Pond Biofuels. In 2008, researchers from five I-CAN organizations were developing a Carbon Algae Recycling System (CARS) to "feed waste heat and flue gas containing CO 2 from industrial exhaust stacks to micro-algae growing in artificial ponds." The "Algal Carbon Conversion", is related to prior interests of NRC President John McDougall , as he previously headed Innoventures,

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3234-406: The core, the supervisor noticed several control rods being pulled from the core; an operator in the basement had incorrectly opened pneumatic valves. The wrongly-opened valves were immediately closed, but some of the control rods did not reenter the core and stuck in almost withdrawn positions, but still low enough for their status lights to indicate them as lowered. Due to a miscommunication between

3311-489: The early days of cancer radiation therapy , the NRX reactor was the world's only source of the isotope cobalt-60 , first used to bombard tumours in 1951. In 1994 Dr. Bertram Brockhouse shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in the 1950s at NRX, which advanced the detection and analysis techniques used in the field of neutron scattering for condensed matter research. The CIRUS reactor , based on this design,

3388-695: The explosive RDX , the proximity fuse, radar , and submarine detection techniques. A special branch, known as the Examination Unit, was involved with cryptology and the interception of enemy radio communications. According to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service website, the NRC headquarters in Ottawa "was a prime espionage target" during the Cold War . The NRC was also engaged in atomic fission research at

3465-721: The facility was started as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Canada's inability to produce COVID-19 Vaccines. The facility is expected to open in July 2021, and will have a vaccine manufacturing capacity of 2 million does per month. In February 2021, the Canadian government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Novavax to pursue manufacturing its NVX-CoV2373 vaccine at the Biologics Manufacturing Centre. In September 2020, President Iain Stewart

3542-438: The fuel element was an aluminium coolant tube with up to 250 litres per second (3,300 imp gal/min) of cooling water from the Ottawa River flowing through it. Between the coolant sheath and the calandria an air flow of 8 kilograms per second (1,100 lb/min) was maintained. Twelve of the vertical tubes contained control rods made of boron carbide powder inside steel tubes. These could be raised and lowered to control

3619-421: The helium cover gas leaked and air was aspirated inside. Hydrogen and other gases evolved by radiation-induced dissociation of cooling water, and 3–4 minutes later oxyhydrogen exploded in the calandria. During the incident, some gaseous fission products were vented to the atmosphere, and heavy water in the calandria was contaminated with the cooling water and the fission products. To remove the fuel decay heat ,

3696-519: The licence was extended to March 31, 2018. The reactor was shut down for the last time at 7 p.m. on March 31, 2018, and has entered a "state of storage" prior to decommissioning operations which will continue for many years within the scope of future operating or decommissioning licences issued by the CNSC. The site remains in active use as of 2022. In 2016, 1.2 billion CAD was allotted over ten years to decommission 120 old buildings and build new ones. The new buildings were completed starting in 2020, as

3773-680: The majority of the NRC's intellectual property management, patenting, and business development activities conducted at the various NRC's research centres in Canada. The transformation of the NRC into a research and technology organization that focuses on "business-led research" was part of the Harper government's Economic Action Plan . On 7 May 2013, the NRC launched its new "business approach" in which it offered four business lines: strategic research and development, technical services, management of science and technology infrastructure and NRC-Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP). With these services,

3850-628: The majority of the world's supply of medical radioisotopes, including two-thirds of the world's technetium-99m . On December 11, 2007, the House of Commons of Canada , acting on independent expert advice, passed emergency legislation authorizing the restarting of the NRU reactor and its operation for 120 days (counter to the decision of the CNSC), which was passed by the Senate and received Royal Assent on December 12. Prime Minister Stephen Harper criticized

3927-701: The newly created Atomic Energy of Canada Limited . Foreign signals intelligence gathering officially remained with the agency when, by Order in Council, the Examination Unit became the Communications Branch of the NRC in 1946. The CBNRC was transferred to the Department of National Defence in 1975, and renamed the Communications Security Establishment . During the 1950s, the medical research funding activities of

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4004-448: The overall safety concerns of the reactor's operation. The NRU reactor was restarted on December 16, 2007. On December 5, 2008, heavy water containing tritium leaked from the NRU. In its formal report to the CNSC, filed on December 9, 2008 (when the volume of leakage was determined to meet the requirement for such a report) AECL mentioned that 47 litres (10 imp gal; 12 US gal) of heavy water were released from

4081-539: The previous federal Minister of State (Science and Technology) , Gary Goodyear , the NRC became in the words of one wag a "toolbox for industry" and dented basic-research infrastructure. In August 2020 under Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Navdeep Bains and President Iain Stewart, the NRC announced it was building the Biologics Manufacturing Centre , a facility that can produce vaccines and other biologics. The construction of

4158-575: The progress in development was at the cost of the environment. In 2012, the federal government moved "to defund government research centres in the High Arctic." In the same year National Research Council environmental scientists "were barred from discussing their work on snowfall with the media. "Scientists for the governmental agency Environment Canada, under threat of losing their jobs, were banned from discussing their research without political approval. Mentions of federal climate change research in

4235-421: The reaction, with any seven inserted being enough to absorb sufficient neutrons that no chain reaction could happen. The rods were held up by electromagnets , so that a power failure would cause them to fall into the tubes and terminate the reaction. A pneumatic system could use air pressure from above to quickly force them into the reactor core or from below to slowly raise them from it. Four of these were called

4312-452: The reaction. The NRX reactor incorporated a calandria, a sealed vertical aluminium cylindrical vessel with a diameter of 8 metres (26 ft) and height of 3 metres (9.8 ft). The core vessel held about 175 six-centimetre-diameter (2.4 in) vertical tubes in a hexagonal lattice, 14,000 litres (3,100 imp gal; 3,700 US gal) of heavy water and helium gas to displace air and prevent corrosion . The level of water in

4389-423: The reactor could be adjusted to help set the power level. Sitting in the vertical tubes and surrounded by air were fuel elements or experimental items. This design was a forerunner of the CANDU reactors. The fuel elements contained fuel rods 3.1 metres (10 ft) long, 31 millimetres (1.2 in) in diameter and weighing 55 kilograms (121 lb), containing uranium fuel and sheathed in aluminium. Surrounding

4466-447: The reactor, about 10% of which evaporated and the rest contained, but affirmed that the spill was not serious and did not present a threat to public health. The amount that evaporated to the atmosphere is considered to be minor, accounting for less than a thousandth of the regulatory limit. In an unrelated incident, the same reactor had been leaking 7,001 litres (1,540 imp gal; 1,849 US gal) of light water per day from

4543-412: The reactor. Three of the safeguard control rods, however, were not inserted into the core and the fourth took an abnormally long time, about 90 seconds, to insert, while the power kept rising. After just 10 seconds the core reached 17 MW(thermal) . The cooling water boiled in some tubes connected to the temporary cooling system, and some of them ruptured; the positive void coefficient of the reactor led to

4620-401: The supervisor and the control room operator, wrong buttons were pressed when the supervisor asked to lower the control rods into the core. Instead of sealing the withdrawn control rods to the pneumatic system, the safeguard bank of four control rods was accidentally withdrawn from the core. The operator noticed that the power level was exponentially increasing, doubling each 2 seconds, and tripped

4697-439: The tenure of Prime Minister Stephen Harper , Canadian Government research organizations began to restrict the ability of government scientists to communicate with the public. This includes restricting scientists within the NRC to communicate with the public through non-scientist communications personnel. Harper's focus as an economist was on his action plan: creating jobs and building the economy. There were widespread concerns that

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4774-530: The time a lieutenant in the US nuclear submarine program who was in charge of 12 men. The NRX reactor core and calandria, damaged beyond repair, were removed and buried, and an improved replacement was installed; the refurbished reactor started operating 14 months and 5 days after the accident. The clean up was primarily performed by 850 Atomic Energy of Canada staff, assisted by about 170 Canadian and 150 U.S. military personnel, and 20 contractors. The lessons learned in

4851-495: The two accidents. However, the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility , an anti-nuclear watchdog group, notes that some cleanup workers who were part of the military contingent assigned to the NRU reactor building unsuccessfully applied for a military disability pension due to health damages. On November 18, 2007, the NRU, which made medical radioisotopes, was shut down for routine maintenance. This shutdown

4928-434: The vessel, and finally to effect the repairs   -   all with remote and restricted access from a minimum distance of 8 metres (26 ft) due to the residual radioactivity in the reactor vessel. The 2009 shutdown occurred at a time when only one of the other four worldwide regular medical isotope sourcing reactors was producing, resulting in a worldwide shortage. The NRU reactor licence expired in 2016. However,

5005-618: The water cooling system was kept operating, leaking contaminated coolant to the reactor basement. About 10 kilocuries (400  TBq ) of radioactive materials, contained in about 4,500 cubic metres (1,200,000 US gal) of water, collected in the basement of the reactor building during the next few days. Clean-up of the reactor building required several months of work, assisted by 150 US Navy personnel after Admiral Rickover requested permission to send US nuclear submarine personnel to learn about cleaning up nuclear contamination. The US contingent included future US president Jimmy Carter , at

5082-495: Was appointed President of the NRC by the Stephen Harper Government Around June 2014, the NRC was reportedly penetrated by Chinese state-sponsored hackers. The tenure of John McDougall as President of the NRC (2010–2016) was marked by a number of controversies. His presidency was characterized by a dramatic drop in publications and patents, by significant cuts in scientific staff, and by

5159-539: Was appointed President of the NRC in 2010, was a member of the NRC-IRAP Advisory Board. In 2011, Bev Oda , the Minister of International Cooperation , and Gary Goodyear , Minister of State (Science and Technology) , announced the grant recipients. These included small to medium-sized businesses, such as, Nortek Solutions a privately owned Canadian software company. They received a $ 30,000 grant from

5236-502: Was built in India. It was ultimately used to produce plutonium for India's Operation Smiling Buddha nuclear test . It is claimed that the term "crud" originally stood for "Chalk River Unidentified Deposit", used to describe the radioactive scaling that builds up on internal reactor components, first observed in the NRX facility. Crud has since become common parlance for "Corrosion Related Unidentified Deposit" and similar expressions and

5313-421: Was established at the University of Montreal during WWII to engage a team of Canadian, British, and other European scientists in top-secret heavy-water reactor research. When the decision was made to build the NRX at what is now known as Chalk River Laboratories , the detailed engineering design was contracted to Canada's Defence Industries Limited (DIL), who subcontracted construction to Fraser Brace Ltd. In

5390-604: Was extended when AECL, in consultation with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), decided to connect seismically-qualified emergency power supplies (EPS) to two of the reactor's cooling pumps (in addition to the AC and DC backup power systems already in place), which had been required as part of its August 2006 operating licence issued by the CNSC. This resulted in a worldwide shortage of radioisotopes for medical treatments because Chalk River made

5467-405: Was extinguished by scientists and maintenance men in protective clothing running along the hole in the containment vessel with buckets of wet sand, throwing the sand down at the moment they passed the smoking entrance. Both accidents required a major cleanup effort involving many civilian and military personnel. Follow-up health monitoring of these workers has not revealed any adverse impacts from

5544-556: Was going on personal leave. During this time Maria Aubrey, Vice President of the NRC, filled the role as Acting President. Effective August 24, 2016, Iain Stewart became the new President of the NRC. The details regarding McDougall's personal leave were not publicly disclosed. Under Minister of Science Kirsty Duncan , the Trudeau government changed the focus of the NRC, to develop partnerships with private and public-sector technology companies, both nationally and internationally. Under

5621-479: Was introduced in the 1950s to support product developments in small to medium-sized businesses. The NRC provides grants and financial support to business' looking to bring new and innovative technologies to the market. Some of the many innovations by NRC personnel included the artificial pacemaker , development of canola (rapeseed) in the 1940s, the Crash Position Indicator in the 1950s, and

5698-556: Was invested for three years and became life, along with CIHR in 2000 (see CIHR Act). On 1 May 1978, with the rapid post-war growth of Canadian universities, the NRC's role in university research funding in the natural sciences was passed under the GOSA Act to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada . Under financial pressure in the 1980s, the federal government produced what popularly became known as

5775-488: Was released. Future U.S. president Jimmy Carter , then a U.S. Navy officer in Schenectady, New York, was part of a team of 26 men, including 13 U.S. Navy volunteers, involved in the hazardous cleanup. Two years later the reactor was in use again. The second accident, in 1958, involved a fuel rupture and fire in the National Research Universal reactor (NRU) reactor building. Some fuel rods were overheated. With

5852-604: Was shuffled to the troubled Public Health Agency of Canada , and in December 2020 Bains named Mitch Davies to fill the vacancy. In October 2021, Iain Stewart returned to his position as President of the National Research Council. In January 2024, Mitch Davies was appointed as President of the National Research Council following the retirement of Iain Stewart. Divisions of the NRC include: Areas of research and development at NRC include: At one point in January 2018

5929-606: Was slow, but the NRC has managed to regain its status as Canada's single most important scientific and engineering research institution among many other Canadian government scientific research organizations . As President of the National Research Council Canada, chemist Arthur Carty revitalized the organization. In 2004, he left the NRC when then prime minister Paul Martin appointed him as independent, non-partisan advisor on science and technology. In April 2010 Mr. John McDougal of Edmonton, Alberta

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