Future development in heavy water reactors in Canada

1982 marks the 35th anniversary of the start-up of Canada's first research and test reactor, NRX. Its first power reactor has been operating successfully for the past 20 years. With 5,000 MWe of domestic capacity installed, Canada's major CANDU (Canada Deuterium, Uranium) nuclear program has a further 9,500 MWe under construction in Canada for completion by 1990 as well as committed offshore projects in Argentina, Korea and Romania. The CANDU operating record, by any measure of performance, has been outstanding. This performance is largely due to the discipline imposed on the development, design, construction and operation by two fundamental choices: natural uranium and heavy water. The impact of these two choices on availability, fuel utilization, safety and economics is discussed. Future plans call for building on those characteristics which have made CANDU so successful. When time for change comes, current assessments indicate that it will be possible to convert to more efficient advanced fuel cycles without major changes to the basic CANDU design. Primary attention is being focussed on thorium fuel cycles to ensure an abundant and continuing supply of low cost energy for the long term. The resource savings available from these fuel cycles in expanding systems are reviewed and compared with those available from LWR's and Fast Breeders. The results clearly illustrate the versatility of the CANDU reactor. It can benefit from enrichment plants or get along without them. It can complement LWR's or compete with them. It can complement Fast Breeder Reactors or compete with them as well. In the very long term CANDU's and Fast Breeders combined offer the potential of burning all the world's uranium and all the world's thorium. (author)