Whiteshell Laboratories
Background
Whiteshell Laboratories (formerly Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment) was established in 1963 in Pinawa, Manitoba. Whiteshell was the second largest of AECL’s sites operated by CNL. At one point it was one of western Canada’s largest research facilities.
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories
The location was chosen based on to the proximity to large amounts of water and a large area of uncultivated land.
The site was home to the largest organically cooled, heavy water moderated nuclear reactor in the world, Whiteshell Reactor 1 or WR-1, and geological disposal laboratory for nuclear waste that was ahead of its time.
Research at Whiteshell involved clean energy, waste management and reactor safety that has benefitted Canadians and people around the world. The research has been instrumental in advancing nuclear science and physics, life-saving medical diagnostics and treatments (including pioneering of cancer treatments), and other beneficial uses of nuclear technologies.
Over the 20 years that the WR-1 Reactor was in operation, research was done on:
- Reactor safety
- Lifespans of waste
- Accident scenarios
- RD 14M –was specifically built to research and test safety systems for the CANDU reactor fleet.
The WR-1 Reactor was shut down in 1985.
