$1 billion to fix the isotope-producing MAPLEs

A couple of data points which may grow into stories about the shutdown, on May 14, of the NRU, the nuclear reactor at Chalk River, Ont. which provides 40 per cent of the world's supply of medical isotopes and 80 per cent of the Canadian supply.

First, here is Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt, speaking on Jan. 30 to one of her aides during a conversation she did not know would be made public:

“You know what solves this problem? Money. And if it’s just about money, we’ll figure it out.”

Fast forward a few months — before the tape becomes public but after the NRU has shut down. Right next door to the 52-year-old NRU are two brand-new nuclear reactors, the MAPLEs, built for no other purpose than to produce isotopes but which have never made it through commissioning because the builder, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., could never fix a problem in which it predicted the reactors would do Y under certain conditions but did X when the machine was actually turned on. These MAPLEs, despite what you might hear from the government, have in, fact produced isotopes and produced them safely.

The chief financial officer of AECL, a Crown corporation, appeared recently before the Senate committee on finance. Given that the Minister of Natural Resources said, in an unscripted moment, that finding a long-term solution to the old NRU is “just about money”, consider this exchange:

Senator Catherine Callbeck (Lib – PEI): You mentioned Maple reactors. They are for the production of isotopes, but they have been cancelled; is that right?

Mr. Michael Robins (Chief Financial Officer, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.): Correct.

Senator Callbeck: When were they cancelled?

Mr. Robins: They were cancelled in May 2007.

Senator Callbeck: Why were they cancelled?

Mr. Robins: That decision was a difficult one based on a lot of different factors, economic and technical, which all led towards shutting down that project as the best decision for the taxpayers of Canada.

Senator Callbeck: The decision was a financial one?

Mr. Robins: Yes.

Senator Callbeck: What was the cost to be?

Mr. Robins: All in, the cost was in excess of $1 billion.

Senator Callbeck: How much?

Mr. Robins: I do not recall off the top of my head how much it would have been, but it would have been a significant dollar value.

Senator Callbeck: Did you say $1 billion?

Mr. Robins: Yes.

Senator Callbeck: It was that high?

Mr. Robins: If not more.

As a point of reference, if the government spent $1 billion to fix the MAPLEs, the government would have fixed a reactor which could supply 100 per cent of world medical isotope demand. The NRU does less than half of that and still provides isotopes which helps 2 million Canadian cancer and heart disease patients a year and 20 million patients in 80 countries around the world.On the other hand, the government spent $9 billion plus to buy a car company which may help save a few thousands jobs.

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