Study of the quality of cooling water in the main condensers of Tracy, Gentilly 1 and Gentilly 2 generating stations situated along the Saint Lawrence River

Various physico-chemical parameters were compared with a view to establishing the differences between the cooling water in the condensers at three Hydro-Quebec-operated generating stations: Tracy, Gentilly 1 and Gentilly 2. The results point to a stronger mineralization at Tracy than at the two nuclear plants where, on the other hand, the number of suspensoids is far greater. The conductivity, alkalinity and suspended matter show fairly constant rates of variation in the water at Tracy whereas at the Gentilly plants they show significant variations with time. Ion chromatographic analysis of water samples revealed traces of NH4+, Li+, F- and Br- species while the elementary composition of the suspensoids included a chloride content of as much as 5000 ppm. The only criteria that can be used to detect the differences noted in the water at the three sites are those employed by the power system planners which take account of both fouling and scaling; and even then these criteria could only be applied on a sampling basis rather than to an individual sample