Well known Canadian marine industry producer of lead keels, MarsMetal has seen significant success with their MarShield division that applies the company’s skills in fabrication using lead, to a nuclear reactor overhaul.

In a recent article by Gary Yokoyama, in The Hamilton Spectator newspaper, Kevin Milne, MarShield president, discussed the Burlington company’ opportunities in Ontario's multibillion-dollar plan to refurbish its nuclear reactor fleet. MarShield provides radiation protection equipment to energy companies, hospitals, labs and treatment centres, the military, emergency response and law enforcement.

When the province begins shutting down and refurbishing its nuclear plants, MarShield thinks it will have a part to play in ensuring worker safety. The Walkers Line-Harvester Road area plant has extra capacity in anticipation of the volume of work to come. The province has committed to overhauling its Darlington reactor, which supplies about 20 per cent of the province's electricity, beginning in 2015. It's estimated that project could cost up to $10 billion.

"We're a tiny part of the whole plant but an important part," said company sales and marketing manager David Holden.

MarShield provides leaded and silicon-based materials that can drape over or wrap around nuclear equipment or be laid over floors or walls to block radiation. The shields can lower spots of high doses of radiation that would force workers to scramble away after only a few minutes.

"No one in Canada does what we do in radiation shielding," said Holden.

The silicon product, which is lined with iron or tungsten, is flexible and lightweight compared to lead and doesn't carry the same concerns about life-cycle. But it is also very expensive, so lead is still used extensively. MarShield's casting shop fills vessels used in nuclear plants with molten lead to prevent radiation leaks. The company has a proprietary pouring procedure, said president and owner Kevin Milne.

The company began in 1979 as a specialty casting plant called MarsMetal. It soon ventured into building keels for sailboats and still has a MarsKeel division that focuses on yachts and superyachts. The casting division now does a lot of work in counterweights for mines, bridges and large construction equipment.

MarShield was formed 11 years ago to focus on the medical field. The company, which recently won a business excellence award from the Burlington Chamber of Commerce, employs about 30 people, but Milne expects that to grow significantly.