The Subcritical Assembly of Polytechnique Montréal. Annex VII

At the beginning of the 1960s, the Government of Quebec initiated a nuclear power programme. In this programme, two nuclear power plants were built by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL), Gentilly-1, operational from 1971 to 1979, and Gentilly-2, operational from 1983 to 2012. As part of the Quebecois governmental policy, the Nuclear Engineering Institute (IGN) at Polytechnique Montréal was founded in the summer of 1970. The IGN development followed two main axes: conducting research related to the operation and safety of nuclear installations; and implementing an education programme in nuclear engineering. This programme supported the design, building, operation, and the development of the regulation of Quebec's nuclear power plants. Three nuclear training and research facilities were acquired, two subcritical assemblies (SCAs) and a SLOWPOKE-2 research reactor of AECL design. In January 1974, AECL (the branch located in Chalk River Ontario, and presently consolidated as Canadian Nuclear Laboratories) provided the natural uranium for the two SCAs. The first experimental facility dedicated to training was a graphite SCA of 38 aluminium clad, natural uranium metal rods (1017 kg natural uranium) inserted in a parallelepiped graphite structure. The second training and research facility was a light water SCA containing 1473 aluminium clad, natural uranium dioxide rods (2681 kg natural uranium) in a cylindrical aluminium tank resting on a graphite pedestal shielded with cadmium sheets, and with a 19 GBq (0.5 Ci) Ra-Be source of neutrons in its base. Furthermore, in May 1976, the SLOWPOKE-2 nuclear research reactor started with 0.9 kg of 93% HEU U/Al alloy, replaced in 1997 with 5.6 kg of 20% LEU UO₂ fuel. In 1982, the in-tank SCA was dismantled, and its 2681 kg natural uranium were returned to AECL. Presently, Polytechnique Montréal owns only one SCA, the graphite exponential pile of 38 aluminium clad, natural uranium metal rods. After the shutdown of the Gentilly-2 nuclear power plant in December of 2012, the nuclear engineering programme at Polytechnique Montréal was gradually reduced and will resume in 2020-2021.