McMaster Nuclear Reactor

The McMaster Nuclear Reactor is a research facility at McMaster University in Hamilton with two connected pools housing the reactor core. The system produces characteristic blue Cherenkov light during operation and features two cooling towers for heat dissipation.

The facility began operation in 1959 and was the first university-based research reactor in the Commonwealth of Nations. It has remained a center for nuclear research and radioisotope production since its opening.

The facility functions as a teaching space where students work directly with nuclear science and learn reactor operations through practical experience. Visitors can observe how research institutions apply atomic physics to solve real-world medical problems.

Visits require advance registration and are limited to groups with safety briefing. The site is located on campus and best accessed with a guide.

The facility produces about half of the global supply of iodine-125, a radioisotope used for cancer treatments in hospitals worldwide. This medical production is one of the reactor's main applications alongside scientific research.