The Canadian government should build a new nuclear reactor to produce medical isotopes and guarantee an adequate supply for the country, an expert panel has recommended.
In a December 3 report to Canada's Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt, the group estimated that it could cost between $500 million and $1.2 billion (Canadian) to build the reactor.
The new facility would replace Atomic Energy of Canada's 52-year-old National Research Universal (NRU) reactor in Chalk River, Ontario. The unit has been offline since May due to a major water leak. Repairs continue to progress toward a restart in March 2010.
The Chalk River reactor supplies approximately 50% of the medical isotope molybdenum-99 to the U.S.
The panel recommended that the Canadian government "expeditiously engage in the replacement of the reactor as we believe a multipurpose research reactor represents the best primary option to create a sustainable source of [molybdenum-99], recognizing that the reactor's other missions would also play a role in justifying the costs."
The members also advocated more research and development of cyclotrons to produce the isotope.
Related Reading
AECL: Chalk River repair will cost $70M, October 20, 2009
AECL moves toward NRU repairs, October 9, 2009
Report: Canada considers splitting AECL, September 15, 2009
AECL shutdown bites MDS revenues, September 10, 2009
SNM: Nuclear medicine tests being postponed, September 9, 2009
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