Nuclear Power Demonstration

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The Nuclear Power Demonstration (or NPD) was the prototype CANDU reactor. It consisted of a single 22MWe PHWR unit, located in Rolphton, Ontario, not far from the Chalk River Laboratories. It has since been shut down and is no longer in operable condition.

NPD began operation in 1962 and ran until 1987, long after vastly more powerful and modern CANDU units came on-line. The first Nuclear-produced power in Canada was generated at NPD, which also served as the "proof of concept" prototype for the later CANDU designs. As with all commercial CANDU units to follow, NPD operated with natural uranium fuel in a horizontal pressure-tube core, was both moderated and cooled by heavy water, and was refuellable on-load. As of 2006, all fuel and non-nuclear equipment have been removed from the site, while much of the nuclear equipment is still present. AECL intends to leave potentially active or contaminated equipment on site for some decades yet to allow for further radioactive decay.

The site is now commerated by a plaque detailing the operational history and highlights of the station. However, for reasons of security and public safety, the plaque is set well back from the on-site buildings, so much so that the site itself cannot be seen from the plaque.

NPD was followed by the 200MWe Douglas Point reactor.

[edit] Possible New Construction

The Government of Ontario is currently considering building new nuclear reactors to address upcoming power shortages. Six possible sites have been suggested, all of which either currently house nuclear generating stations, or which housed stations in the past. Rolphton, presumably the NPD site, has been listed as one of the areas which may be subject to an Environmental Assessment prior to new construction being licensed.[1]