this post was submitted on 29 Jun 2026
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Just that you know: they do not cut open the actual reactor. They cut open the engine house (or however it is called in Canada), which houses generators and turbines running on a non-radioactive steam circuit. The engine house is the usually rectangular building next to the actual reactor, the building where all the power lines originate from.
Actually, they did cut open the reactor building. CANDU is a unique type of nuclear reactor in that it uses unenriched natural uranium. It uses a heavy water loop, which is heated by the reactor core (heavy water acts as the moderator). The heat from the heavy water loop is transferred to a light water loop in a steam generator. The generated steam is sent to another building where a turbine turns it into electricity. They replaced those steam generators, which are housed in the reactor building.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CANDU_reactor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_generator_%28nuclear_power%29?wprov=sfla1