The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers

The Council is currently seeking skilled Boilermakers.  The scope of work for Boilermakers will include: Replacing the pressure and calandria tubes of a nuclear reactor is a critical timeline in plant refurbishment. This step is referred to as Retube and Feeder Replacement.

  • Each reactor consists of 480 fuel channels, each containing a pressure tube, which is inside a calandria tube. The pressure tubes contain 13 CANDU fuel bundles each. At each end of each pressure tube are the feeder tubes. These transport heavy water coolant from the reactor calandria to and from the steam generators. All of the feeder removal work must be done at the reactor face in protective suits or remotely using automated tools. 960 feeder pipes in the reactor means about 2,400 cuts inside the reactor, leading to removal of approximately 390,000 pounds of feeder tube and related material.

 

Locations
Bruce NGS, Tiverton, Ontario:
Bruce Power is located in southwestern Ontario near Tiverton, on the shores of Lake Huron in Bruce County.  It is Ontario’s only private sector nuclear generating station and produces approximately 30% of the province’s electricity.  Including 8 reactors, Bruce NGS boasts the largest number of operational reactors at any nuclear generating station in the world.  
Units 1 and 2 were previously refurbished between 1995 and 2012.  Refurbishment of units 3 through 8 is slated to take place between 2020 and 2033.  

Darlington NGS, Clarington, Ontario
Located in Southern Ontario in the township of Clarington, on the shores of Lake Ontario, Darlington NGS is the 2nd largest Nuclear Generating station in Canada, producing approximately 20% of the province’s electricity.  Consisting of 4 Units commissioned between 1990 and 1993, Darlington is owned and Operated by Ontario Power Generation, an Ontario Crown Corporation.  
Refurbishment of Darlington Unit 2 began in 2016, with the three other units slated to undergo refurbishment between 2020 and 2026.  


Non-Residents
All TFW’s must meet security clearance requirements, as established by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) that allow staff to work within the protected area of a Nuclear Power plant. The security clearance process at OPG and BP are similar with some exceptions. Clearances at one utility can be transferred, upon request, to the other.
The process for conducting TFW security clearances is as follows:

  • Candidate will be assessed and deemed qualified for the position;
  • Administrator will reach out on behalf of the Building Trade Union in need of Temporary Foreign Workers and initiate the security clearance process;
  • Once the security clearance is received for the particular site in need of Temporary Foreign Workers the administrator will work with the Building Trade Union hiring halls to request a transfer to the alternative job site;
  • Administrator will track all clearances received and expiry dates for both job sites.

Applications
All applications should be directed to Ontario Boilermakers Local 128.

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