Highly Enriched Uranium in Canada

February 2012

The National Research Universal
(NRU) at CRL, located about 200
kilometers north of Ottawa, Ontario,
uses HEU to produce medical isotopes.

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Canada has a small inventory of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) within its borders. It is produced in the United States and transported to Canada for use. HEU is currently used as a fuel source in two research reactors and as base material for the production of medical isotopes at Chalk River Laboratories (CRL).

In April 2010, Canadian Prime Minister Harper and U.S. President Obama committed to returning spent HEU fuel to the United States as part of a broad international effort to consolidate HEU inventories in fewer locations around the world.

Transportation

The transportation of HEU is done in containers (flasks) that are specifically designed and certified by both the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and its U.S. counterpart to meet international safety requirements.

These flasks undergo stringent testing, which simulate both normal and hypothetical conditions of transport, including free-drop testing, puncture testing and thermal testing.

Each shipment of HEU must be licensed by various U.S. and Canadian authorities, including the CNSC.

Security

Stringent security plans for each shipment are required, to avoid any risk of the material falling into the hands of unauthorized persons or organizations. Information on specific shipment details is considered prescribed, and is limited to persons who have a legitimate need to know, such as police response forces. The transportation routes and security measures put in place are pre-approved and agreed to by authorities in both Canada and the United States.

Canada has an excellent safety record for the transport of nuclear substances. The CNSC will not allow the shipment of any nuclear materials unless they are convinced the safety of Canadians will be protected.