The U.S. isn't the only North American country sending warnings about the tenuous supply of medical isotopes.
Canadian officials describe the problem as "critical" in a report published in the British journal Nature.
Because more than 80% of Canada's medical isotopes are manufactured at the National Research Universal reactor in Chalk River, Ontario, operated by Atomic Energy of Canada (AECL), the supply is "remarkably fragile" due to periodic shutdowns at the facility, according to the report.
The report suggests using high-intensity light beams in small accelerators to make medical isotopes, but notes that such an initiative would require significant investment and commitment by the Canadian government.
The report is authored by Dr. Tom Ruth, a nuclear medicine specialist at TRIUMF, Canada's particle and nuclear physics laboratory in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Related Reading
Report: Use of low-enriched uranium in medical isotopes is feasible, January 15, 2009
NRCG reactor will be down longer, December 22, 2008
Belgium to restart medical isotope production, November 5, 2008
Dutch reactor won't restart until February 2009, October 15, 2008
Dutch reactor opening delayed another month, September 19, 2008
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