• The CNSC Phase 2 Pre-Project Design Review concluded:

• AECL has provided sufficient design and analysis information for the purpose of the review;

• At a high level, the design intent is compliant with CNSC regulatory requirements and meets the expectations for new nuclear power plants in Canada;

• CNSC staff did not identify any fundamental barriers to licensing the ACR-1000 in Canada;

• An adequate design process is in place, and the CNSC has made some observations regarding its implementation;

• As part of a licence application, CNSC staff would expect a commissioning program to be submitted that is commensurate with industry best practice that would verify to the extent practicable that the new features of the ACR-1000 design will function in accordance with their design requirements; and,

• The overall ACR-1000 R&D program was derived logically from the existing knowledge base and appears to be comprehensive — addressing key safety-related and first-of-akind R&D requirements.

While the overall conclusion indicated that there are no fundamental barriers to licensing the ACR-1000 in Canada, it should be noted that this is subject to the successful completion of AECL’s planned activities, in particular those related to R&D. Mr. MacDiarmid added, “We are confident in the merits of the ACR-1000 as it’s built on the fundamentals of our existing CANDU reactor fleet, including the CANDU 6, which has been built on-time and on-budget on four continents in the last 12 years. AECL and its Team CANDU partners are ready to build the first ACR-1000 on Canadian soil and the positive conclusions of the CNSC’s Pre-Project Design Review provide more confidence in our readiness.”

AECL will now proceed with finalizing the detail aspects of the design in anticipation of an ACR- 1000 reactor build in the near future.

http://cnw.pathfireondemand.com/viewpackage.action?packageid=234

The ACR-1000 is Atomic Energy of Canada’s evolutionary, Gen III+*, 1200 MWe class pressure tube reactor. It is a light water cooled, heavy water moderated pressure tube reactor derived from the well-established CANDU line.

The ACR-1000 retains the basic, well-proven, features of the CANDU® plant design such as a modular, horizontal fuel channel core, a low-temperature heavy-water moderator, water-filled vault, two independent diverse shutdown systems, on-power fuelling and reactor building accessibility for on-power maintenance.

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited is a full service nuclear technology company providing services to nuclear utilities around the world. Established in 1952, AECL is the designer and builder of CANDU technology including the ACR-1000 and the CANDU 6, one of the world’s top-performing reactors. AECL is actively developing CANDU markets in Romania, Argentina as well as other international markets. AECL's 5,000 employees deliver cutting edge nuclear services, R&D support, design, and engineering, construction management, specialized technology, refurbishment, waste management and decommissioning in support of CANDUreactor products. More information on AECL and CANDU technology can be found at www.aecl.ca

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