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Dr Eric Davis Earle - retired nuclear physicist
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Dr. Davis Earle - History
Born in Carbonear, Newfoundland, Dr. Davis Earle followed his undergraduate
degree at Memorial University (B.Sc., 1958) with a M.Sc. at the University of
British Columbia in 1960. In 1959, he was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship and
completed his D.Phil. at Oxford in 1964. From there, he moved to Chalk River
Laboratories of Atomic Energy of Canada and began a long career of contribution
to experimental nuclear physics.
His career took a different turn in 1984 when he joined a group of fellow
scientists planning what would become the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO).
The intent was to measure solar neutrinos using heavy water. This required an
initial feasibility study and, once feasibility had been established, the
development of a major funding proposal. Dr. Earle was a key figure in both
these aspects of the project so that, when funding came in 1990, he became the
project's associate director.
He then undertook responsibility for construction of what was the equivalent of
a 10-story subterranean building and of ensuring that the structure was
ultra-clean - that the radioactivity was reduced to levels until then
unachieved. The same demands were made of the massive acrylic sphere which had
to hold $300-million of heavy water and is the crucial aspect of neutrino
detection. Those demands were met and SNO's work proceeded to receive
international regard; to be viewed as among the most significant recent
scientific discoveries and contributing to a better understanding of the
universe.
Dr. Earle is also noted for his capacity to communicate scientific findings and
has long been viewed by his colleagues as a scientific ambassador to the wider
community.
For his major contribution to the initiation and development of SNO and to the
standing of Canadian science, Dr. Earle will be awarded an honorary doctor of
science degree at the 3 p.m. session of convocation on Friday, Oct. 22.
Canada's Health Minister Tony Clement speaks during a news
conference at the Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) Chalk River nuclear
facility in Chalk River, Ont.
Photo by Chris Wattie / Reuters
Isotope hope
Nuclear physicist from Carbonear bemoans politics, flaws at Chalk River plant
By BRIAN CALLAHAN
Friday, January 18, 2008
For 44 years, Davis Earle has lived next door to the Chalk River nuclear power
plant in Ontario.
And for 32 years, he worked there.
Clearly, the 70-year-old retired nuclear physicist from Carbonear feels safe in
his adopted home, but he says serious issues continue to surround the important
facility near his home in Deep River near Ottawa.
Important for several reasons, but mainly as a source of two-thirds of the world
demand for medical isotopes. Almost overnight, Chalk River went from relative
obscurity to a household name when its importance as a supplier to hospitals
worldwide was realized.
In late November, a nearly month-long shutdown due to safety concerns left
hospitals from Newfoundland to New Zealand scrambling to find an alternate
source of isotopes, which are needed to perform critical medical tests and
procedures.
Earle, a Rhodes Scholar, says Chalk River operator Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.
(AECL) recognized the potential crisis years ago and has been trying to replace
and upgrade the reactor ever since.
In fact, smaller replacement reactors solely to produce isotopes — known as
Maple 1 and Maple 2 — have been built adjacent to the 50-year-old reactor, but
have yet to power up. Their startup is eight years behind schedule mainly due to
design flaws and lack of funding from the federal government.
“They’ve had problems with its design and can’t get it up to speed,” Earle tells
The Independent from Fernie, B.C., where the avid skier vacations with his wife.
“They’ve got them built, but the regulatory body won’t allow them to operate
because of commissioning problems.”
Earle, who worked at Chalk River from 1964-96, says a lead physicist at the
facility told him last week there are still problems with the new reactors.
“They still don’t know when they’ll get them running. It’s eight years behind
now and the budget has gone through the roof. So that’s very embarrassing for
AECL, that they haven’t succeeded in getting these up and running,” says Earle,
who moved to St. John’s from Carbonear at the age of 13, and graduated from
Prince of Wales College and later Memorial University with a bachelor of science
degree.
He attended the University of British Columbia before enrolling at Oxford
University as a Rhodes Scholar.
Earle then moved to Deep River to begin work at the nearby reactor.
“There’s no question about it — AECL has got to have egg on its face because
here they are … it was years ago they realized they had to come up with new
reactors to produce the isotopes, they got money to build them, they got them
designed, and they’ve been built. But they’re not working according to design.”
The regulator — Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) — ordered the shutdown
in November, sparking a spat between federal Natural Resources Minister Gary
Lunn and CNSC president Linda Keen.
Lunn criticized Keen for the closing, while Keen and opposition MPs fired back
with accusations of government interference with an independent commission.
While he sympathizes with Keen, who was fired by Lunn Jan. 16, Earle also
questions the reasoning behind the shutdown.
“I have to sympathize with her. She was in charge of the regulatory body, but if
she’s suddenly looking over her shoulder to see if some politician is going to
second guess her decision on a safety issue, and fire her if she doesn’t make
the right one … I got a little bit of a problem with the government taking that
position, even though she may have been a little too tight (with the
regulations).”
Earle doesn’t believe Keen was the only casualty in the dispute. He says “other
heads have already rolled” with some staff “moved laterally” into advisory
roles. He also says the shutdown may not have been entirely necessary, but it
was an opportunity for Keen, the CNSC and AECL to “draw a line in the sand.”
“I think as far as AECL was concerned, this reactor was fine. It was just a
question that they should have had certain battery backups in place, and they
didn’t. So I think Keen decided the regulator was going to take a stand (to draw
attention to the issue). And it worked.
“Maybe it wasn’t the most serious issue, but AECL had not done something they
agreed to do. So either accidentally or intentionally they misled the
regulator.”
Earle also points out the Chalk River reactor reached its life expectancy years
ago. But that, he says, still doesn’t mean there’s a safety risk.
“It certainly wasn’t designed to last this long. It’s only because they’ve
upgraded it, repaired and replaced things, they can’t get these (new reactors)
working — and they haven’t been able to get funding for another research reactor
— that it’s still operating.”
AECL has estimated it will cost $600 million over the next five years to replace
or improve the facility. But Auditor General Sheila Fraser, in her report last
fall, said Ottawa has provided only $34 million to the Crown corporation to
address “urgent health, safety, security, and environmental issues” at Chalk
River. A source of funding for other significant costs has not yet been
identified, she added.
“When it was built, it was very safe,” Earle says. “But they’ve had to upgrade
it to make it safer and safer as years go by, which is perfectly reasonably,
just as cars didn’t used to have air bags or seatbelts.”
Another result of the Chalk River crisis was a global realization of the
scarcity of medical isotopes. The U.S., Earle says, is already considering
modifying a reactor in Missouri to produce them.
“You can appreciate that the Americans are saying, ‘What? We’re depending on a
foreign reactor for that? We’ve got to have our own supply.’”
Earle estimates about 2,000 people work in some capacity at Chalk River, which
also serves as a testing and trouble-shooting facility for new reactors.