In 1963, the Government of Canada established an AECL research laboratory in Pinawa, Manitoba, the Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment, now Whiteshell Laboratories. This facility was centered around the largest organically cooled, heavy water moderated, nuclear reactor in the world, the WR-1.
Also at Whiteshell AECL built and partly commissioned a SLOWPOKE reactor (SDR), to demonstrate the Slowpoke Energy System, an in-ground pool reactor designed to supply 10,000 kW of hot water for district heating. The project was terminated after market interest in a nuclear heating system dwindled.
The site consists of a number of nuclear and non-nuclear facilities and activities. In 1998, AECL decided to close Whiteshell Laboratories and many of the facilities and activities have since ceased active operation.
