The Senate in Canada's Parliament last night approved legislation to restart the Chalk River nuclear reactor, which manufactures radioisotopes for nuclear medicine applications.
Canada's House of Commons on Tuesday passed the same legislation, which would allow the facility to begin production immediately. The legislation temporarily sidesteps the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission's regulation and oversight of the Chalk River facility, and allows the reactor to operate for 120 days.
The Parliament's action is more than welcome news for nuclear medicine physicians and other caregivers in North, South, and Latin America, who have experienced a dramatic shortfall in supply since the facility went offline. The Ontario Association of Nuclear Medicine estimated that as many as 160,000 American and 50,000 Canadian patients would be denied necessary tests as long as it remained closed for renovations.
On Wednesday, Reuters cited the Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL), the government-owned nuclear technology company that operates the reactor, as predicting that radioisotope production could resume as soon as next week, if the legislation passed. AECL spokesman Dale Coffin said Chalk River could return to full production by next week, and deliver radioisotopes within three to four days.
Related Reading
Isotope production could start very soon: Canada, December 12, 2007
Canada urges end to medical isotope problems, December 7, 2007
Warning issued on radioisotope supply, December 6, 2007
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