VZCZCXRO1261
PP RUEHGA RUEHHA RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHOT #2260 3471937
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 131937Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7029
INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 0719
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0979
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 0291
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 3467
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC

UNCLAS OTTAWA 002260 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FRO WHA, OES, AND ISN 
HHS FOR OFFICE OF GLOBAL HEALTH AFFAIRS 
DOE FOR NE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO ECON KSCA CA
SUBJECT: LEGISLATION PASSED, AECL RESTARTS REACTOR 
 
REF: OTTAWA 2255 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
(SBU) The Canadian Senate passed Bill C-38 the evening of 
December 12, and it received Royal Assent shortly thereafter, 
making the bill law and completing an extraordinary 
legislative journey that saw the Canadian Parliament override 
the country's nuclear regulator.  The new law permits AECL to 
restart and continue operating its National Research 
Universal (NRU) reactor at Chalk River, Ontario, for a period 
of 120 days, despite NRU's non-conformance with the 
conditions of its operating license.  The matter at issue, 
the installation of "seismically qualified motor starters on 
the heavy water pumps and their connection to the emergency 
power supply," was mandated when the Canadian Nuclear Safety 
Commission last renewed NRU's license in 2006.  One of the 
two required pumps is already installed and commissioned, and 
AECL had assured the government the reactor could operate 
safely with only the one pump in place.  AECL has the 
equipment and components in Chalk River to install and 
connect the second pump, but will now restart NRU before 
finishing the second installation.  AECL has stated it can 
complete the work within the 120 period authorized by the 
legislation.  As of mid-day December 13, AECL announced the 
restart was underway and that production of medical 
radioisotopes should be back to normal within seven to eight 
days.  AECL continues to assert its "absolute and unwavering 
commitment to safety."  As officials from Natural Resources 
Canada told us, all along this was more a licensing issue 
than a safety one. 
 
Visit our shared North American Partnership blog (Canada & Mexico) at 
http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap 
 
WILKINS