The BC Cancer Agency Centre for the North has reached a key construction milestone as the final concrete pour has taken place for the linear accelerator vaults.
“Construction continues to be on track for an opening in late 2012,” said Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond.
“A new era in cancer care for the North will be launched at that time, providing greater access to service for cancer patients and their families across the region. This final concrete pour is another milestone on our way to a Northern Cancer Centre.”
The new BC Cancer Agency Centre for the North will include two linear accelerators, which are used in the delivery of radiation therapy. The facility will also include a computerized-tomography (CT) simulator; a chemotherapy treatment unit; a pharmacy; and general outpatient clinics.
To protect others against radiation emitted during treatment, the vault rooms housing the linear accelerator machines need to be enclosed in extremely thick concrete. There were over 900 truckloads of cement delivered for the facility and 246, or around one-quarter, were used directly for the vault walls. At their largest point, the walls are approximately 3.35 metres, or 11 feet, thick. The vault area is only seven per cent of the centre’s footprint, yet contains 27 per cent of the building’s concrete.