Evidence of meeting #33 for Natural Resources in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was repair.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:20 p.m.
Richard Côté Vice-President, Isotopes Business, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
The Australian reactor is currently not exporting. They are still producing only for their own domestic consumption, which of course frees up supply from South Africa to be redistributed around the planet.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS
We did hear, back in June, from the minister that she expected that Australia would be exporting isotopes by August, and that certainly hasn't been the case.
Let me ask you, then, about the situation financially, because Mr. MacDiarmid, your CEO, has already indicated to us that in fact AECL loses money on its isotope business. What we haven't heard is how much. Can either of you tell us that?
5:20 p.m.
Senior Vice-President and Chief Nuclear Officer, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
I certainly couldn't put a number on that. The NRU reactor really is there for a number of missions. It provides materials research and research and development of things like fuel. So it's a multi-purpose research reactor. I don't have with me figures that would split off the cost of producing isotopes.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS
I have to say that it seems odd to me that you have a business line, so to speak, and no analysis in terms of....
We heard from the CEO, who told us that it loses money. Well, okay, show us. How are we to assess that situation? You're telling us that it isn't broken down in a way that you can tell whether it loses money, which sounds contrary to what we heard from the CEO. And I'm saying that if you're telling us it loses money, why can't you come here and tell us how much it's losing? It seems like a fair question.
5:20 p.m.
Senior Vice-President and Chief Nuclear Officer, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
I do not have with me any representative number, but I would offer to provide something to the committee, if that's the wish of the committee.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS
I would appreciate that.
Can you tell us what it's costing to refurbish or deal with the situation at Chalk River right now? What has it cost this year so far? Do you know that? And do you have a projected cost for this fiscal year?
5:20 p.m.
Senior Vice-President and Chief Nuclear Officer, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
Again, I did not bring with me the expenditures to date on this outage. However, we have done an estimate on the total repair of the NRU. That cost would be in the order of $70 million, and that includes an amount for contingency, and that includes a netted amount for lost revenue from isotopes.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS
Mr. Chairman, I have two questions. I don't think I'm going to have enough time in my half-minute. I think I'll wait for my next round. That's probably the reasonable approach.
5:20 p.m.
Bloc
Paule Brunelle Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
Good afternoon, gentlemen, and thank you for being here.
Mr. Pilkington, I looked on the website. I saw the scope of the work, and I think that it clarifies something that is extremely complicated.
Do you really believe that you will be able to return the NRU reactor to service within the planned time frame, the first quarter of 2010?
Natural Resources Canada provided us with the percentages of supply produced by the reactors. I see that the NRU reactor produced 50% of supply, and the Petten reactor, 40%. We know that Petten will be shut down for upgrades or repairs in March 2010. That means that if you cannot get it back online in time, there will be a 90% shortfall in isotope production.
How are we going to address that problem? Do you have a plan B?
5:25 p.m.
Senior Vice-President and Chief Nuclear Officer, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
AECL believes the most effective and fastest route towards resuming the isotope supply in Canada or from Canada is by the repair and return to service of the NRU.
We have essentially completed a non-destructive examination. We understand the scope of repair. We still need to gather more information to support the repair, the actual application of the repair, and then we need to follow through and complete it. But all the information we have to date from inspections and all the work that has been done to develop and test the tooling we're planning to use makes us more confident that in fact we will be successful in returning the NRU to service in the first calendar quarter of next year.
5:25 p.m.
Bloc
Paule Brunelle Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
If the NRU reactor is returned to service when you expect, are you hopeful that you will get the authorization needed to extend its life? I believe there was authorization up to 2011. Will you be able to get that authorization? Do you see that as a long-term solution?
5:25 p.m.
Senior Vice-President and Chief Nuclear Officer, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
Our plan is to carry out a quality repair and to carry out a repair that will allow the NRU to operate reliably past the next licence interval. That would be the interval between 2011 and 2016. The intent in this repair is to provide a quality and lasting repair that will allow the NRU to operate reliably beyond 2016.
5:25 p.m.
Bloc
Paule Brunelle Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
As a nuclear expert, do you have an opinion on Canada's apparent desire to discontinue isotope production? There are no plans for the medium or long term to deal with the medical isotope shortage. The Prime Minister even announced that we were going to get out of the isotope market. What are your thoughts?
5:25 p.m.
Senior Vice-President and Chief Nuclear Officer, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
Our job is to repair and return the NRU to service and to maintain reliable operation through the next licence interval, from 2011 to 2016. I would really defer to the advice of the expert panel to the government on what the long-term isotope supply strategy should be for Canada.
5:25 p.m.
Bloc
Paule Brunelle Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
We heard about a possible restructuring of AECL. How do you think that would affect isotope production in Chalk River's labs?
5:25 p.m.
Senior Vice-President and Chief Nuclear Officer, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
In terms of restructuring, the restructuring is being carried out by our shareholder, by Natural Resources Canada, by the government. We are providing input to that. However, we are not the decision-makers, and certainly I am not the decision-maker.
I have great pride in the operation of the Chalk River site and the facilities, and I'm confident that, under whatever structure is chosen, that facility will continue to provide its mission in supplying isotopes.
5:25 p.m.
Bloc
Paule Brunelle Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
To your knowledge, is that restructuring a privatization, that is, AECL will be sold to the private sector?
5:25 p.m.
Senior Vice-President and Chief Nuclear Officer, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
As I said before, this is in the hands of the shareholder. We are the company and the operator, and I defer to the shareholder. That's where you should be directing those questions.
5:25 p.m.
Liberal
5:25 p.m.
Bloc
Paule Brunelle Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
You had a chance to listen, perhaps briefly, to the medical specialists who spoke to us earlier about the significant impact of this shortage. I know just how hard you are working to rectify this situation, of that I am sure.
Do you think that medical isotope production is critical for Canada and that we should continue to invest in it, if only to retain our global expertise?
5:30 p.m.
Senior Vice-President and Chief Nuclear Officer, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
I think that's a question that, again, goes broader than my mandate. My mandate is to in fact return the NRU to service and operate it reliably. I would again suggest that it's the expert panel who are looking at that and who will be advising the government on what the appropriate course of action is, going forward.
5:30 p.m.
Liberal
