Although the recommencement of Canada's National Research Universal (NRU) reactor in Chalk River later this month is good news for short-term relief of the molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) isotope shortage, it won't solve ongoing production and supply issues that are causing the crisis, according to SNM of Reston, VA.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has reported that gaps in the assessment of the reactor could have serious effects on the reliability of the reactor's operation in the future, Robert Atcher, PhD, chair of SNM's Domestic Isotope Availability Work Group, said in a statement.
Canada's Maple reactor project was canceled in 2007, due to cost and technical problems. This project was key to the ongoing availability of Mo-99 in the U.S., Atcher said. The NRU reactor was shut down in May 2009, and, coupled with delays due to repairs as well as scheduled outages at the High Flux Reactor in Petten, the Netherlands, many hospitals had to cancel patient procedures that use technetium-99m, the decay product of Mo-99 that is used to diagnose and detect heart disease and other conditions.
The Canadian government has said it plans to shut down isotope production at the NRU reactor permanently in 2016. On July 7, the CNSC approved Atomic Energy of Canada's (AECL) request to resume production of Mo-99 at its Chalk River facility; the reactor is expected to be back online at the end of this month.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., the American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2009 (HR 3276), which would provide funding for the production of a domestic isotope supply, was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives this past fall. The bill is currently in the Senate.
Related Reading
Canadian agency OKs Chalk River restart, July 7, 2010
AECL plans for late July restart, July 2, 2010
AECL start-up hearing rescheduled, June 30, 2010
AECL proceeds with restart plans, June 28, 2010
AECL completes Chalk River repairs, June 17, 2010
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