Published: December 03, 1997
(Page 2 of 3)

Editor's Note Appended

Canada's nuclear program began in the early days of World War II. Supplies of heavy water -- in which hydrogen atoms have been replaced by deuterium for use in nuclear experiments -- were brought from Norway to Paris and then, when the Nazis occupied France, to England and later to Montreal.

Canada played a minor part in the Allied effort to build the first atomic bomb. But, intent on demonstrating its economic independence, the country set out to exploit its head start with heavy water.

A crown corporation, Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd., was formed in 1952 to market the Canadian design. One of the strongest selling points was the Candu reactor's unique ability to be refueled while operating. This helped the reactors achieve industry-leading performance in their early years.

The reactor's reliance on heavy water also made it a formidable producer of plutonium, which could be used to make nuclear weapons. And the plutonium can be extracted without shutting down the unit, and thus in comparative secrecy.

The first exports were to India, which assured Canada that the reactors would be used only for peaceful purposes. But in 1974, India exploded its first nuclear device. Although Canada was not alone in selling nuclear technology, it received stinging rebukes from Western leaders for being naive about atomic power.

''Canada sinned in that area but the excuse always was that we sin because everybody else sins,'' said Robert Bothwell, a University of Toronto historian who wrote a history of Canada's nuclear efforts.

Offering favorable loans and sometimes questionable fees, Canada sold reactors to Argentina's military government, Pakistan and several of South Korea's rulers. Romania's dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, ordered five, but built only one.

The $3 billion deal with China last year ended a long period without sales, but there was little rejoicing in Canada. Environmental groups criticized the deal while human rights activists opposed doing any business with China.

But then Ontario Hydro's reports last summer about conditions at its reactors in Canada raised questions about the ability of other countries to maintain the complex units.

Officials with the International Atomic Energy Agency, a division of the United Nations headquartered in Vienna, said they had not received reports of serious safety problems at any of the Candu sites. They have scheduled a thorough inspection of Argentina's reactors for the coming months.

But most of the countries that have bought Candu reactors do not have independent nuclear regulators. Local reports suggest there have been mishaps with alarming regularity. The reactor in Argentina is regularly shut down to repair leaking pipes, and heavy water leaks at the reactor in South Korea have occurred so often that the operator, Korea Electric Power Corporation, has ordered plant workers to wear masks packed with ice to block fumes.

''What you see in Canada is something that could happen not only in countries that run into financial difficulties but even in countries that don't encounter such difficulties,'' said Zigmung Domaratzki, deputy director general for nuclear safety at International Atomic Energy Agency and former director general of reactor regulation at Canada's Atomic Energy Control Board. ''It certainly raises questions.''

An engineer with Ontario Hydro who spoke on condition of anonymity said running the utility's 20 Candu reactors turned out to far more complex than expected. In the 1980's, the four oldest reactors at the Pickering station on Lake Ontario had to be repaired at huge expense. There was a long list of spills, leaks, and non-functioning valves.

Editor's Note: December 18, 1997, Thursday An article on Dec. 3 described safety concerns about Canadian-made nuclear power plants sold abroad. It included an estimate that Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., the manufacturer of a power plant type known as Candu, had received $10 billion in Canadian Government subsidies since 1952. The article should have pointed out that the estimate was made by an antinuclear group and that the company says it has received less than $4 billion.