Welcome to the Website of the New Brunswick Branch

The Canadian Nuclear Society (CNS) promotes the exchange of information on all aspects of nuclear science and technology and its applications.  

The members of the New Brunswick Branch include many present and retired employees of NB Power, interested members from academia and businesses. We also welcome participation of those interested in Canadian nuclear science and engineering, direction and advancements in the Canadian nuclear industry, and nuclear operations of the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station.  Please contact any of our representatives, or email this website, to learn more about membership in the CNS.  

Mandate and the Future

The NB Branch of the CNS is becoming more active in its mandate to promote the exchange of information on all aspects of nuclear science and technology and its applications.  As we look to the future, we are actively seeking further interesting and engaging speakers not only about the nuclear power industry, but also with the direction of energy supply and distribution within the province of New Brunswick where nuclear plays a vital role.  Our events are intended to attract not only CNS members, past and present; but also offer a unique opportunity to network and foster relationships with local nuclear industry professionals.

Your Branch Executive

Your current branch representatives are:

Chair:                            Derek Mullin

Past Chair:                    Mark McIntyre

Secretary:                     Rick Sancton

Treasurer:                     Elif Can Usalp

Outreach & Education:  Kathleen Duguay

Member-at-Large:         Paul D. Thompson

Member-at-Large:         Michael Hare

If you are a member in good standing and have any interest in playing a more active role in the NB Branch activities in promoting the nuclear industry through outreach and education, or with providing assistance with planning and carrying out branch activities, please contact the Chair, Derek Mullin, at dmullin@nbpower.com.

Branch News and Activities

Look here to find the latest news and information on upcoming activities regarding the NB Branch. You can also join our Facebook group and follow us here! 

Branch Events

Past Events

Detecting Neutrons Outside of Shielding: Stand-Off Monitoring at Nuclear Facilities

It is currently a priority objective of the Department of Safeguards within the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to “strengthen instrumentation capabilities for verification”, with the specific research and development need to “develop safeguards equipment to establish and maintain knowledge of spent fuel in shielding/storage/transport containers at all points in their life cycle”. This presentation demonstrates the use of a large-area (~0.2 m2) neutron detector to monitor reactor fuel cycles, as well as the movement of spent nuclear fuel at stand-off distances of up to 100 m, even in the presence of significant shielding and infrastructure. It is shown that with commercially available large area neutron detector technology, neutrons can be detected outside reactor shielding, and their correlation with reactor power and changes in fissile isotopic composition of the reactor core has been demonstrated. Further, the on-line re-fueling activities at the National Research Universal (NRU) research reactor, as well as the movement of legacy spent nuclear fuel at the Fuel Packaging and Storage (FPS) facility has been monitored with the same neutron detection technology at similar stand-off distances, even while the spent fuel is kept inside heavy shielding during the movement.

The scope of potential for these measurement techniques for verification and maintaining continuity of knowledge of reactor fuel cycles and spent fuel in shielding, storage, and transport, was discussed on September 25, 2019, by Bryan van der Ende, Section Head of Experimental Safeguards, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, Applied Physics Branch.  20 interested individuals attended the lecture.  Derek Mullin, chair of the New Brunswick Branch and on behalf of the branch executive, presented Mr. van der Ende with a gift of appreciation for his presentation.

NB Power and Its Vision for Small Modular Reactors

Despite being a small province, New Brunswick Power has often been on the forefront of technological development to benefit its customers. In terms of nuclear within a balanced energy mix, this started with the first commercial CANDU-6 pressurized heavy water reactor. However, with the world facing a daunting challenge of providing affordable electricity to an expanding population while transitioning to a low-carbon economy; catering to increased grid demands of electric vehicles; complementing renewable sources of energy; and, working towards building the New Brunswick economy, inherently safe small modular reactors (SMR) have become an attractive opportunity for New Brunswick.

On May 14, 2019, at the Mary Oland Theatre in the beautiful New Brunswick Museum, Mr. Brett Plummer presented a very interesting and engaging presentation that provided additional detail on why NB Power is currently pursuing small modular reactors and its vision for the future of energy supply. The presentation was well attended by 58 individuals including CNS members, nuclear retirees, Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station staff, members of the Association of Professional Engineers of New Brunswick (APEGNB) and commercial organizations.

Brett was appointed Vice President Nuclear and Chief Nuclear Officer at NB Power’s Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station in November 2015. He is accountable for leading the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station’s strategic direction to achieve safe, predictable and productive nuclear performance.  Brett’s extensive background includes 38 years of commercial nuclear power plant experience in Operations, Senior Leadership and Project Management roles.

Derek Mullin, chair of the New Brunswick Branch and on behalf of the branch executive, presented Mr. Plummer with a gift of appreciation for his presentation.

The ARC-100 Small Modular Reactor

With announcement of a nuclear research cluster, and private investment by ARC Nuclear, LLC, into New Brunswick with their small modular reactor design, the New Brunswick Branch of the Canadian Nuclear Society previously reported on two interesting and informal lectures about the ARC-100 Small Modular Reactor (SMR) that took place in September. The branch was very pleased to again host a similar lecture for lovers of nuclear on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2019, at the University of New Brunswick Fredericton campus. Speakers for the lecture included Dr. Eric Loewen, Chief Consulting Engineer with GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy; Robert C. Braun, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ARC Nuclear, LLC; and, Norm Sawyer, President of ARC Nuclear Canada Inc.

With worldwide demand for electrical power expected to double over the next 25 years, the world faces the daunting challenge of providing affordable electricity to an expanding population without exacerbating climate change or fostering nuclear proliferation. Advanced Reactor Concepts, LLC (ARC) will address this challenge and is developing an exportable, factory-produced, 100 MWe nuclear reactor.

The ARC-100 is a sodium cooled fast neutron spectrum small modular reactor, with a refueling cycle of 20 years. The ARC-100 has inherent safety attributes and a passive heat removal design that creates a “walk away” safe facility.. It provides a new model for nuclear power that is based on factory fabrication of modular components that can be shipped for rapid site assembly, resulting in low overnight costs, and the simplicity and reliability of the design support a competitive levelized cost of electricity.

The reactor’s basic technology was proven through the successful 30-year operation of the EBR-II prototype. ARC has made significant proprietary advances to the original EBR-II design in order to create the ARC-100.

The attendance at the Valentine’s Day lecture included 52 interested individuals, which results in an overall total of 232 people who have now heard the ARC-100 small modular reactor message!

Derek Mullin, chair of the New Brunswick Branch, presented Dr. Eric Loewen with a gift of appreciation for his traveling such a long distance and contribution to the ARC-100 lecture.

Pierre Tremblay of AECOM Canada Nuclear Operations

On December 18, 2018, Mr. Pierre Tremblay, President and CEO of AECOM Canada Nuclear Operations was welcomed by the NB Branch of the Canadian Nuclear Society to host an informal discussion of some the major advancements in the industry over time, the major challenges faced, and the key opportunities that lie ahead. The fascinating discussion was held at the WorleyParsons offices in uptown Saint John during inclement weather and was attended by 10 hardy souls. Many thanks to WorleyParsons for consistently providing the branch with a quality meeting space for our events!

Pierre brought a wealth of nuclear power plant operations experience to the discussion, complemented by former leadership roles in training, maintenance, and nuclear waste management. He is a thought-leader, a community-oriented citizen and a recently inducted fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. Pierre is the former chief nuclear operating officer for Ontario Power Generation (OPG), Ontario’s largest power utility and was past President of Canadian Nuclear Partners, a wholly-owned subsidiary of OPG.

Mr. Tremblay was presented with a gift of appreciation for his informative and interesting presentation following the uptown Saint John evening lecture.

Rory O’Sullivan of Moltex Energy Canada

With announcement of a nuclear research cluster, and private investment by Moltex Energy Canada into New Brunswick with their small modular reactor design, the New Brunswick Branch of the Canadian Nuclear Society was very pleased to offer two opportunities for an informal mixer and lecture to learn more about the Moltex Stable Salt Small Modular Reactor (SMR).

The Stable Salt Reactor Wasteburner (SSR-W) fuelled by spent nuclear fuel will be discussed as well as its fuel fabrication and reprocessing technologies. The same reactor type can be reconfigured to be thermal spectrum, fuelled by low enriched uranium, the SSR-Uranium. A further configuration allows thorium breeding in the coolant, the SSR-Th, which has limitless fuel. All three reactor types have different deployment timelines and different market applications..

Rory O’Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer of Moltex Energy Canada, delivered a fascinating lecture on the Moltex Stable Salt Reactor at the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station site for a lunch and learn on October 30, in uptown Saint John at the New Brunswick Museum during the evening of November 13, and again during the evening of December 4 at the University of New Brunswick Fredericton campus.

The New Brunswick Branch achieved a significant combined attendance of approximately 226 individuals for this lecture!! As part of the CNS NB Branch outreach initiative, plans are in the works for additional future educational lectures off-site to a broader audience including academia and the public for both the Moltex Stable Salt Reactor and the ARC-100 Small Modular Reactor.

Derek Mullin, chair of the New Brunswick Branch, presenting Mr. O’Sullivan with a gift of appreciation for his informative and interesting presentation following the uptown Saint John evening lecture.

Duncan Bruce of Innovatia

On October 16, 2018, the CNS offered a lecture by Mr. Duncan Bruce, Account Manager of Innovatia, entitled “The Digital Workplace at the Front Line.” The challenge ahead of us is to increase the predictability by which people work – close the gap between work as designed versus work as executed. Digitized knowledge management systems will set the foundation to deliver the right information where and when it is needed. The connected worker of tomorrow can execute work in a more standardized way while collecting data, similar to the way IIOT sensors collect data today on equipment.

The beauty of the digital workplace is that it can be done with the user experience in mind to allow humans to excel at what humans are good at, solving problems, creating value and contributing to improvement. The fundamentals of the various frameworks for process improvement rely on capturing knowledge from the front lines. This can be made ever more effective using today’s information and communication technology to have operators take ownership of the whole process while operating as designed.

The lecture was well attended by approximately 24 interested individuals who asked many insightful questions. A gift of appreciation was provided to our guest speaker by Derek Mullin, Chair of the NB Branch.

Robert C Braun of Advanced Reactor Concepts (ARC) Nuclear, LLC

With announcement of a nuclear research cluster, and private investment by ARC Nuclear, LLC, into New Brunswick with their small modular reactor design, the New Brunswick Branch of the Canadian Nuclear Society was very pleased to offer two opportunities for an informal mixer and lecture to learn more about the ARC-100 Small Modular Reactor (SMR).

With worldwide demand for electrical power expected to double over the next 25 years, the world faces the daunting challenge of providing affordable electricity to an expanding population without exacerbating climate change or fostering nuclear proliferation. Advanced Reactor Concepts, LLC (ARC) will address this challenge and is developing an exportable, factory-produced, 100 MWe nuclear reactor.

The ARC-100 is a sodium cooled fast neutron spectrum small modular reactor, with a refueling cycle of 20 years. The ARC-100 has inherent safety attributes and a passive heat removal design that creates a “walk away” safe facility.. It provides a new model for nuclear power that is based on factory fabrication of modular components that can be shipped for rapid site assembly, resulting in low overnight costs, and the simplicity and reliability of the design support a competitive levelized cost of electricity.

The reactor’s basic technology was proven through the successful 30-year operation of the EBR-II prototype. ARC has made significant proprietary advances to the original EBR-II design in order to create the ARC-100.

Dr. Robert Braun, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ARC Nuclear, LLC, delivered an engaging and fascinating lecture on the ARC-100 SMR at the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station site for a lunch and learn on September 11, and again in uptown Saint John at the WorleyParsons offices during the evening of September 12. It is very evident that lecture topics that potentially affect the careers of those involved with the nuclear industry and could affect future energy generation in New Brunswick, are of particular interest to CNS members and non-members alike.

The New Brunswick Branch achieved a significant all-time record for combined attendance of 180 individuals for this lecture!!

Derek Mullin, chair of the New Brunswick Branch, presenting Dr. Braun with a gift of appreciation for his informative and interesting presentation following the uptown Saint John evening lecture.

Derek Wilson of Nuclear Waste Management Organization

On September 10, the New Brunswick Branch of the Canadian Nuclear Society was pleased to host both an on-site lunch and learn at the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station, and a social mixer and evening lecture in uptown Saint John at the WorleyParsons Offices, on Canada’s plan for the long-term management of used nuclear fuel.

Mr. Derek Wilson, Chief Engineer and Vice President of Contract Management at the Nuclear Waste Management Organization provided an update to the NWMO’s implementation of Adaptive Phase Management (APM), and Canada’s plan for the safe long-term management of used nuclear fuel through isolation in a deep geologic repository. The update included a brief history of the NWMO and the development of APM, with a focus on progress related to selecting a site to host the repository. The presentation highlighted work on both engagement and technical assessment, and also progress of the broader technical program and proof testing of the NWMO’s engineered barrier system design.

The lectures were superbly attended with a combined total number of 78 attendees.

Derek Mullin, chair of the New Brunswick Branch, presenting Mr. Wilson with a gift of appreciation for his informative and interesting presentation following the uptown Saint John evening lecture.