Nuclear Safety and Security:
the Role of Canada’s NuclearLaboratories
Rosaura Ham-Su
2011 December 13
2011 Global, JapanUNRESTRICTED / ILLIMITÉ

Outline• Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, AECL NuclearLaboratories• AECL’s role in Safety and Security• Safety and Security Program• Description and capabilities• S&T Program• Summary

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2The Nuclear Laboratories• Established as a Crown Corporation (AECL) in 1952
• “For the control and supervision of the development,
application and use of atomic energy and to enable
Canada to participate effectively in measures ofinternational control of atomic energy …”

AECL - OFFICIAL USE ONLY | À USAGE EXCLUSIF - EACL

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Nuclear Laboratories• The “knowledge base” of the Canadian nuclear industry

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Nuclear Laboratories• The “knowledge base” of the Canadian nuclear industry• Location of several key national nuclear facilities

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Nuclear Laboratories• The “knowledge base” of the Canadian nuclear industry• Location of several key national nuclear facilities• Major primary producer of medical radioisotopesUNRESTRICTED / ILLIMITÉ

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Nuclear Laboratories• The “knowledge base” of the Canadian nuclear industry• Location of several key national nuclear facilities• Major primary producer of medical radioisotopes• Leader in Canadian nuclear environmental
stewardship

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Nuclear Laboratories• The “knowledge base” of the Canadian nuclear industry• Location of several key national nuclear facilities• Major primary producer of medical radioisotopes• Leader in Canadian nuclear environmental
stewardship• A nuclear laboratory producing and applying science& technology for the benefit of Canadians and theworld
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Nuclear Laboratories• We work for the public good

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9Nuclear Laboratories

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Our Mandate

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Our Mandate

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Strength in People & Facilities

Sites:
Chalk River - HQ
Whiteshell
OttawaPort Hope• 3000+ people• Specialized Facilities• Unique capabilities – strong
interactions between groups
facilitated by proximity
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Unique S&T Facilities
Fuel Fabrication Thermalhydraulics

NRU

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Surface Science

BRF

Hot Cells

ZED-2

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Nuclear Laboratories

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Nuclear Laboratories

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Nuclear Safety and Security
Program Activity
Description: A consolidation of projects and services that ensure
the safety of Canadian nuclear facilities, their employees and theCanadian public.

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Nuclear Safety and Security
Program Activity
Description: A consolidation of projects and services that ensure
the safety of Canadian nuclear facilities, their employees and theCanadian public.

Events at Fukushima have confirmed the need for the program to provide:- Technical capability to predict and prevent conditions that could leadto nuclear incidents

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18Nuclear Safety and Security
Program Activity
Description: A consolidation of projects and services that ensure
the safety of Canadian nuclear facilities, their employees and theCanadian public.

Events at Fukushima have confirmed the need for the program to provide:- Technical capability to predict and prevent conditions that could leadto nuclear incidents.
- Protection, mitigation, risk assessment tools and emergency
response capability should an incident occur

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19Nuclear Safety and Security
Program Activity
Description: A consolidation of projects and services that ensure
the safety of Canadian nuclear facilities, their employees and theCanadian public.

Events at Fukushima have confirmed the need for the program to provide:- Technical capability to predict and prevent conditions that could leadto nuclear incidents.
- Protection, mitigation, risk assessment tools and emergency
response capability should an incident occur.
- Access to technical expertise for response forces, regulatorsand other government agencies, so that decisions taken toprotect Canadians are risk informed

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Safety and Security Program

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Safety and Security Program• Safeguards and counter-terrorism technologies andmethodologies

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Safety and Security Program• Safeguards and counter-terrorism technologies andmethodologies• Proliferation-resistant nuclear technologies

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Safety and Security Program• Safeguards and counter-terrorism technologies andmethodologies• Proliferation-resistant nuclear technologies• Nuclear Response, Nuclear Security and Fire Services

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Safety and Security Program• Safeguards and counter-terrorism technologies andmethodologies• Proliferation-resistant nuclear technologies• Nuclear Response, Nuclear Security and Fire Services• Radiation Protection, Decontamination and Respiratory
Support Services

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Safety and Security Program• Safeguards and counter-terrorism technologies andmethodologies• Proliferation-resistant nuclear technologies• Nuclear Response, Nuclear Security and Fire Services• Radiation Protection, Decontamination and Respiratory
Support Services• Improved Performance and Safety Culture

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Safety and Security Program• Safeguards and counter-terrorism technologies andmethodologies• Proliferation-resistant nuclear technologies• Nuclear Response, Nuclear Security and Fire Services• Radiation Protection, Decontamination and Respiratory
Support Services• Improved Performance and Safety Culture• Prototype Safety Analyses Codes

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Safety and Security Services

Response

AECLSafetyandSecurity
InvestigationUNRESTRICTED / ILLIMITÉPrevention

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Prevention•Reactor Safety S&T•Dosimetry services•Physical protection• Safeguards & non-proliferation• Risk assessment• Security of radioactive sources• Security of nuclear waste• Transportation•Error prevention•Cause analysis•Human performance

UNRESTRICTED / ILLIMITÉInvestigation• Nuclear forensics• Analytical laboratory services• Proliferation Resistance and PhysicalProtection (PR&PP) assessment• Safeguards by Design (SBD)
consultant services• Information exchange

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Response• RN rapid emergency response• Radiation detection•Reception of nuclear materials• Analytical laboratory services• Environmental analysis• Accident assessment• Policy support (Gov’t of Canada)• Health of population

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Nuclear Safety S&T

Methodology
Development
PassiveFeatures
Containment
Behaviour

Thermalhydraulics

Fuel Channel
Behaviour

Fuel and Fission
ProductBehaviour

Nuclear Safety Technology - S&T•Understand, prevent and mitigate risks associatedwith nuclear operations and activities•Advance the knowledge base for informed standardsand regulation•Enhance national and global nuclear security•Help ensure the successful maintenance and safetyof our CANDU industry

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Nuclear Safety Technology - S&TActivities• Current Safety Code Suite – Development and Validation

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Nuclear Safety Technology - S&TActivities• Current Safety Code Suite – Development and Validation• Advanced Code Development – Prototype Safety Codes

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Nuclear Safety Technology - S&T
Activities• Current Safety Code Suite – Development and Validation• Advanced Code Development – Prototype Safety Codes• Failure Mechanisms – Identification of Mechanisms,
Predictive Tools

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Nuclear Safety Technology - S&TActivities• Current Safety Code Suite – Development and Validation• Advanced Code Development – Prototype Safety Codes• Failure Mechanisms – Identification of Mechanisms,
Predictive Tools• Severe Accidents – Mitigation Strategies,
Recommendations for Risk Reduction

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Nuclear Safety Technology - S&T
Activities• Current Safety Code Suite – Development and Validation• Advanced Code Development – Prototype Safety Codes• Failure Mechanisms – Identification of Mechanisms,
Predictive Tools• Severe Accidents – Mitigation Strategies,
Recommendations for Risk Reduction• Risk Mitigation – Demonstration of Prototypes andProcesses

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Nuclear Safety Technology - S&TActivities• Current Safety Code Suite – Development and Validation• Advanced Code Development – Prototype Safety Codes• Failure Mechanisms – Identification of Mechanisms,
Predictive Tools• Severe Accidents – Mitigation Strategies,
Recommendations for Risk Reduction• Risk Mitigation – Demonstration of Prototypes andProcesses• Fuel Safety Margins - Quantification of Fuel Failure andFission Product Release

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Severe Accident Research
Molten Fuel Moderator Interaction Experiments to Satisfy
Regulatory Concerns

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Technology development• Cerenkov Viewing Device (CVD)• Muon Tomography• Anti-neutrino Detector• Solid-state radiation detectors (incl. neutron)• Direct production of He-3 from PHWRs

UNRESTRICTED / ILLIMITÉNon-proliferation & Safeguards support• Advanced safeguards instrumentation development• digital CVD, micro radiation detectors, antineutrino monitoring, muon tomography of transport
containers• Safeguards by Design• new reactor designs, SF management, advanced
fuel cycles

UNRESTRICTED / ILLIMITÉLoss of Coolant Accident
Experiments• Full-elevation
thermalhydraulic facility – forCANDU heat transportsystem• Used for large LOCA
analyses for CANDU
reactors

RD-14M Facility at Whiteshell Laboratories

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Hydrogen Hazard Mitigation• Passive Autocatalytic Recombiners (PARs)for hydrogen mitigation in nuclear reactor
containment - reduce risk of hydrogen
combustion/deflagration under severe
accident conditions• Built on AECL catalyst technology
development for D2O production• Numerous installations world-wide –CANDU and PWR– Finland, France, Ukraine, Korea– Canadian CANDU stations• R&D continues on PAR improvements
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Hot-Cell Fission Product Release
Experiments
Gammaspectrometer#1• Measure FP release fromvarious fuels as a functionof environment• Emphasis changes in lightof Fukushima events,– Release from UO2
fuel in air-steam
mixtures– Leaching of fission
products from fuelsamples and deposits
using water andsaline solutions

UNRESTRICTED / ILLIMITÉIn CellPressuretransducer

P

Furnace

SampleO2sensor
FilterO2 sensor

Gas supply

DelaycoilCondenser

Steam generator

Emergency
suctionunit

ScrubberGamma
spectrometer#2

To water
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Summary
Spent
Fuel

Nuclear
Cosmic Ray tracks

Radiation transport simulationsof cosmic ray interaction withDSC

Nuclear Safety and Security
Program:
Projects and services that ensure
the safety of Canadian nuclear
facilities, their employees and theCanadian public

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Contact:
Rosaura Ham-Su, Fuel Development Branch Manager,
Sustainable Energy Technologies SA Leadhamsur@aecl.ca
Joanne Ball, Reactor Safety Division Director,
Safety and Security Program Leadballj@aecl.ca

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Nuclear Laboratories Program
Activities
Nuclear Industry Capability•CANDU Inc. Support•CANDU Owners Group R&D•CANDU Industry R&D
Clean, Safe Energy•Generation IV•Tritium and Fusion Technologies•Hydrogen Technology•Sustainable Energy Technologies•Materials Science and Chemistry•Small Reactors

Nuclear Environmental Stewardship•AECL Nuclear Legacy Liabilities•Whiteshell Decommissioning•Port Hope Area Initiative•Historic Wastes•Nuclear Environmental Technology•Nuclear Waste Services
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Nuclear Safety and Security•Non-proliferation & Counter-terrorism•Nuclear Security and Emergency Response•Nuclear Materials Handling•Nuclear Oversight•Nuclear Safety Technology
Health, Isotopes and Radiation•Isotope Production•Isotope Reliability•Legacy Obligations•Radiation Biology and Health

Nuclear Innovation Networks•NRC Canadian Neutron Beam Centre•AECL Innovation Networks49

Analytical capabilities• U/Pu analysis and isotopic measurements for
personnel bioassay, environmental and fuel burnup
measurements, using:• TIMS (Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry)• ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma – MassSpectrometry)• Radiochemical analysis – alpha, beta and gammaspectrometry• Chemical separations – HPLC (High Performance
Liquid Chromatography), Ion Chromatography, etc.

TIMS

• RN rapid emergency response:• LSC (Liquid Scintillation Counters) – low background,with alpha/beta discrimination• nasal swab LSC screening• rapid radiochemical separation (U, Ra-226, Sr-90,
actinides for rapid bioassay)

ICP-MSUNRESTRICTED / ILLIMITÉAnalytical capabilities• Surface science analysis:• Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with detection
systems for Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS),
Wavelength Dispersive Spectrometer (WDS) and Electron
Back Scattered Diffraction (EBSD).
• Scanning Auger Microscopy (SAM)• Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS)• X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS)• SIMS, XPS configured for highly radioactive samples

XPS• Nuclear Forensics:• Post-incident analysis, and pre-incident deterrence• Relevant AECL capabilities:• signature model development• analysis against signature models• laboratory analysis, irradiated fuel analysis• fuel cycle physics analysis• training

UNRESTRICTED / ILLIMITÉSIMSSimulation capabilities• Radiation transport• Detector response• Reactor physics, fuel cycle analysis

Radiation transport simulations of cosmic ray
interaction with DSC

Spent Nuclear FuelCosmic Ray tracks

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