Atomic Energy of Canada (AECL) was forced to shut down its Chalk River nuclear reactor on February 15 due to a problem with the mechanism that extracts isotope-containing rods from the reactor.
The Calgary Herald reported that the temporary closure came just one day after Chalk River was restarted on February 14 after scheduled maintenance.
The newspaper quoted AECL spokesman Dale Coffin as saying the reactor would be back online February 17, but a temporary shortage of medical isotopes is likely.
Chalk River supplies molybdenum-99 to MDS Nordion of Ottawa, Ontario. The article cited an MDS Nordion spokesperson who said that a medical isotope shortage of approximately 50% this week could result from Chalk River temporarily going offline.
Related Reading
Report: Canada's isotope supply 'fragile,' January 29, 2009
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
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