What is Our Nuclear Neighbour Up to this Week

BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada is hosting a community connect pop-up and we asked why. Kathleen Augustin, Manager, CO Communications & Community Relations says, “it’s important for us to be transparent in the community…many people that come to our community events just don’t fully understand what we do”. The fuel pellets the facility produces is for nuclear reactors and their fuel pellets facilitate 25% of electrical output for Ontario.

Augustin says: “The pellets we manufacture in Toronto are sent to our Peterborough facility where they are inserted into fuel bundles that go to Ontario Power Generation (OPG) for use in their reactors. What we’re making in Toronto is not highly radioactive until it goes into the reactor”. You can watch the process of the pellet production on their website at this link. Augustin says, “the fuel we make is just for CANDU reactors” CANDU is short for Canada deuterium uranium; the reactor is a Canadian pressurized heavy-water reactor.

The BWXT Nuclear Energy facility is situated on a busy railway line in the neighbourhood, but Augustin did not believe the rail tie they could access was still in use by the organization. BWXT now rents the property that is still owned by General Electric (GE). The facility sits on one of the few remaining parcels of land GE has not sold. At one time GE was a big employer and landowner in the neighbourhood. Some of that land was sold to condo developers. We asked if there may be an opportunity to expand the facility with the condo market crashing and Augustin said: “I am not aware of any expansion plans in Toronto.”

When asked about who works at the location Augustin says, “we have a small team [at BWXT in Toronto]. We’re about 40 employees and some of them do live in the neighborhood, some of them walk to work, some commute”.

BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada community connect pop-up is Wednesday, September 24 from 4:00 to 6:00pm in their parking lot at 1025 Lansdowne Avenue.