McMaster Nuclear Reactor

McMaster Nuclear Reactor
Reactor building in 2013
Country	Canada
Location	Hamilton,Ontario
Coordinates	43°15′40.4″N79°55′17.2″W
Status	Operational
Construction began	1957
Commission date	1959
Owner	McMaster University
Operator	McMaster University
Nuclear power station
Reactor type	open pool reactor
Power generation
Units operational	5 MW
External links
Website	McMaster Nuclear Reactor

TheMcMaster Nuclear Reactor(MNR) is a 5MW_thopen pool reactorlocated on the campus ofMcMaster University,inHamilton, Ontario,Canada.

Description

MNR began operating in April 1959, as the firstuniversity-basedresearch reactorin theCommonwealth of Nations,and has been the highest-flux research reactor inCanadasince the closing of theNational Research Universal (NRU) reactoratChalk River Laboratoriesin 2018. The reactor consists of two connected pools; the core can be located and operated in either one. This allows the core to be moved away from experimental apparatus for maintenance. MNR is an example of a reactor where the core is visible while the reactor is operating. The core itself appears to be glowing blue when looked at from the surface, as a result of theCherenkov radiation.

MNR is the only research reactor in Canada with a full containment structure. The reactor is fuelled with low-enrichment uraniumand cooled and moderated with light water. Heat is transported to the atmosphere through the secondary coolant system via twocooling towersadjacent to the reactor building.

The reactor is used for a variety of purposes: undergraduate education involves NAA (Neutron Activation Analysis), reactor physics experiments andradioisotopesfor tracers and counting experiments. Graduate studies use neutron beams forneutronradiography,neutron diffraction, prompt gamma NAA and geochronological techniques. Commercial activities includeradioisotopeproduction andneutronradiography.The facilities also include aHot Celland high-activitycobaltsource and high level radioisotope laboratories. Researchers using MNR are based at McMaster as well as other universities in Canada and around the world.

The MNR also produces half of the world's supply ofiodine-125,a radioisotope that is used to treat various types of cancer. During the2009 shutdownof the Chalk River reactor, however, the university increased production of iodine-125 by 20% and offered to retrofit the MNR to handle the production ofmolybdenum-99.The MNR had previously handled the production of molybdenum in the 1970s when the Chalk River facilities underwent a vessel replacement.

Alleged links to terrorism and lawsuit

Paul L. Williams,an American author, has published books which claim that McMaster University in general and the nuclear reactor specifically have been infiltrated by terrorist groups, who have managed to steal 82 kilograms (181 lb) of unspecifiednuclear material.

The University strenuously denies these claims, and in 2007 was in the process of suing Williams for upwards of $2 million. TheCanadian Nuclear Safety Commission,which regulates all radioactive material in Canada, have released a letter stating that "We can confirm that there has never been a report of any nuclear material that has been lost or stolen from McMaster's reactor".

See also

• Nuclear reactor
• Research reactor