NRG powers down Petten reactor

By AuntMinnie.com staff writers

February 19, 2010 -- As scheduled, Dutch radiopharmaceutical producer Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG) took its High Flux Reactor in Petten, Netherlands, offline at 8 a.m. local time.

NRG now will begin planned maintenance and repairs to the reactor's cooling water pipework and other infrastructure. The reactor, which is a major worldwide source of medical isotopes, is scheduled to return to service in late August.

In recent months, NRG has worked to minimize the effect of the reactor's temporary closure by holding talks with government agencies, other isotope producers, and customers to ensure as much medical isotopes supply as possible.

Hazelwood, MO-based Mallinckrodt, a subsidiary of Covidien of Dublin, Ireland, is a joint venture partner with NRG at Petten. Mallinckrodt provides approximately 40% of the U.S. medical isotope supply.