Nuclear medicine physicians may have to wait a little longer for the shortage of the radioisotope molybdenum-99 to abate. Atomic Energy of Canada (AECL) has pushed back the anticipated restart of its Chalk River, Ontario, nuclear reactor to the first quarter of 2010.
AECL yesterday provided an update on the progress of repairs of the 52-year-old National Research Universal (NRU) reactor, which supplies 50% of the molybendum-99 radioisotope in the U.S. Molybdenum-99 is a precursor to technetium-99m, the most widely used radioisotope in nuclear medicine.
AECL has been evaluating repair options since mid-May, when the NRU reactor went offline due to a heavy water leak. Yesterday, AECL confirmed that there are nine locations within the reactor that "likely" require repair.
"In addition, high-resolution scanning data available recently has identified both wall thinning and localized pitting that suggests different corrosion effects," according to the update. "As a result, AECL is considering further testing by taking samples from the vessel wall in order to provide more comprehensive data."
Given the increased number of repair sites and potential need for additional work, AECL now anticipates the NRU "will return to service during Q1 2010." AECL's most recent estimate gave a target date of late 2009 for getting the reactor back online.
Exacerbating the global isotope shortage is the current shutdown of a nuclear reactor in Petten, Netherlands, for scheduled maintenance. The unit is scheduled to come back online this month, but it will be offline again in early 2010 as part of a planned six-month shutdown.
Related Reading
MDS offers plan to fix Maple reactors July 31, 2009
MDS urges Canada to complete Maple project, July 9, 2009
Canada still unsure on isotope reactor repair plan, June 26, 2009
Canada may open isotope project to private sector, June 19, 2009
Canada wants Chalk River online ASAP, June 19, 2009
Copyright © 2009 AuntMinnie.com
