WR-1
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The WR-1 reactor was a research reactor located at AECL's Whiteshell Laboratories, located near Pinawa, Manitoba.
The 60 MWt WR-1 was designed and built by Canadian General Electric, and first achieved criticality in 1965. The reactor had vertical fuel channels, and was cooled by an organic liquid (an oil) rather than water. The organic coolant had a higher boiling temperature than water, which allowed WR-1 to be run at correspondingly higher temperatures, upwards of 400 degrees Celsius. The reactor was moderated by heavy water in a large calandria vessel surrounding the fuel channels. Fuel was Uranium Dioxide or Uranium Carbide of varying enrichments, up to 5% U-235. The original purpose of the unit was as a test reactor for a proposed organic-cooled CANDU power reactor. When that program ceased in 1972, WR-1 was used for irradiation, experimentation and heating the WNRE site.
WR-1 was shut down for the last time in 1985, was defuelled, and is now undergoing decommissioning.
