Plan to Reopen Reactor to Relieve Diagnostic Isotope Shortage
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OTTAWA, Dec. 13 — The Chalk River reactor, which has been off line for more than three weeks and left much of diagnostic nuclear medicine in the U.S. and Canada at a standstill, may be producing isotopes again before Christmas.
Canada’s government last night overruled its nuclear regulators and allowed the reactor to reopen for 120 days, despite safety concerns raised by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
But it will be at least six to eight days before nuclear imaging isotopes are again available from the Ontario reactor, the only facility in North America that produces molybdenum-99 — the precursor of the technetium-99m used in diagnostic imaging.
Technetium-99m is a short-lived decay product of molybdenum-99, which itself has a half-life of only about 66 hours.
[So, how do they use the stuff? I wondered too. Read on...]
One Comment
Al Jensen
December 17th, 2007
at 12:42pm
There is no need for the US to be dependent upon others for medical isotopes. The Fast Flux Test Facility at Hanford, Washington, would make a very good source for medical isotopes, but our politicians, in all their wisdom? chose to shut it down rather than utilize an opportunity to put it to good use. It is still intact, but not for long if it doesn’t get some support. It makes me wonder who they are representing.