Canada Enters The Nuclear Age

The nuclear energy company has overseen the production of its own history, focusing on programs at its laboratories in Chalk River, Ontario, and Whiteshell, Manitoba between 1943 and 1985. The 16 scientists who wrote the narrative discuss the organization and operations of the laboratories, nuclear safety and radiation protection, radioisotopes, basic research, developing the CANDU reactor, managing the radioactive wastes, business development, and revenue generation. Canadian card order number: C97-900188-9. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Since the first atomic weapon was detonated in 1945, Canadians have debated not only the role of nuclear power in their uranium-rich land but also their country’s role in a nuclear world. Should Canada belong to international alliances that depend on the threat of nuclear weapons for their own security? Should Canadian-produced nuclear technologies be exported? What about the impact of atomic research on local communities and the environment? This incisive nuclear history engages with much larger debates about national identity, Canadian foreign policy contradictions during the Cold War, and Canada’s global standing to investigate these critical questions.

This book tells us how nuclear power works, what it looks like, and why it is safe. It explains how nuclear fission works, how nuclear reactors are controlled, and how their safety systems reliably protect us. For those of us who have never visited a nuclear power station, the author provides detailed descriptions, drawings, and photographs. He addresses our concerns about radiation protection, the economy of CANDU reactors, the lifespan of nuclear plants, and plant decommissioning. This book provides an understanding of the use of nuclear power, with its potential to protect our environment and decrease global warming.-- Publisher.

In Canada's Early Nuclear Policy Brian Buckley weaves information from a number of disciplines to shed new light on Canada's early policies. Filling a longstanding gap in the national story, he explores the country's role in the early post-war period, cautioning against simplistic explanations and pointing to the continuing roles of contingency and personality in decision making. While the threat of nuclear war has receded in recent years, the number of states with nuclear weapons, the number of weapons, and their killing power are all far greater than they were five decades ago. Virtually all the issues that emerged fifty years ago remain on the international agenda and are as relevant today as ever.

Canadian defence issues in a global perspective. An analysis of Canada's long-ignored defence policies.