The ZEEP (Zero Energy Experimental Pile) reactor was a

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat fr ...

built at the

Chalk River Laboratories Chalk River Laboratories (french: Laboratoires de Chalk River; also known as CRL, Chalk River Labs and formerly Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories, CRNL) is a Canadian nuclear research facility in Deep River, about north-west of Ottawa. CRL is ...

near

Chalk River Chalk River (2016 population: 1029) is a small rural village, part of the Laurentian Hills municipality in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Upper Ottawa Valley along Highway 17 (Trans-Canada Highway), inland (west) from ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada (which superseded the Montreal Laboratory for nuclear research in Canada). ZEEP first went critical at 15:45 on September 5, 1945. ZEEP was the first operational nuclear reactor outside the United States. The reactor was designed by Canadian, British and French scientists as a part of an effort to produce

plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exh ...

for

nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

."Canada's Historical Role in Developing Nuclear Weapons"
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. It was developed while the Montreal Laboratory and

research facility were under the supervision of the

National Research Council of Canada The National Research Council Canada (NRC; french: Conseil national de recherches Canada) is the primary national agency of the Government of Canada dedicated to science and technology research & development. It is the largest federal research ...

(NRC). ZEEP was instrumental in the development of the NRX and NRU reactors, which led to the development of the successful

CANDU reactor The CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) is a Canadian pressurized heavy-water reactor design used to generate electric power. The acronym refers to its deuterium oxide ( heavy water) moderator and its use of (originally, natural) uranium fuel. C ...

."Candu: The Canadian Nuclear Reactor"
CBC Digital Archives ZEEP was used to test reactivity effects and other

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

parameters needed for reactor development at Chalk River Laboratories, including fuel lattices for the NRU reactor situated next door. ZEEP was one of the world's first

heavy water reactor A pressurized heavy-water reactor (PHWR) is a nuclear reactor that uses heavy water ( deuterium oxide D2O) as its coolant and neutron moderator. PHWRs frequently use natural uranium as fuel, but sometimes also use very low enriched uranium. The ...

s, and it was also designed to use natural (unenriched)

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

; a feature carried through to the CANDU design.

Uranium enrichment Enriched uranium is a type of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 (written 235U) has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Naturally occurring uranium is composed of three major isotopes: uranium-238 (238 ...

is a complex and expensive process; thus, the ability to use unenriched uranium gave ZEEP and its descendants a number of distinct advantages. ZEEP continued to be used for basic research until 1970. It was decommissioned in 1973 and dismantled in 1997. In 1966 ZEEP was designated a historic site by Ontario, and commemorated with a historic plaque. Both this plaque and ZEEP itself are now on display at the

Canada Science and Technology Museum The Canada Science and Technology Museum (abbreviated as CSTM; french: Musée des sciences et de la technologie du Canada) is a national museum of science and technology in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum has a mandate to preserve and promot ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

, Canada.

References

External links

NRC Archives Photographs - Physics- Atomic Energy Project collection Atomic Energy of Canada Limited AECL Public Affairs brochure on ZEEP (1992) The Canadian Nuclear FAQ
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeep Atomic Energy of Canada Limited Nuclear research reactors Defunct nuclear reactors

See also

References

External links