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Written by World Nuclear News
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Tuesday, 19 May 2009 00:00 |
Medical isotopes could again be in short supply in Canada following an unscheduled shutdown of the NRU reactor facility which is expected to last at least a month.
Read more: www.world-nuclear-news.org |
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Written by Nuclear Research & Consultancy Group at Petten
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Tuesday, 14 October 2008 00:00 |
The High Flux Reactor (HFR) in Petten will restart on 16th of February. NRG, together with Areva/Uddcomb Engineering, has developed a repair plan as a result of which the pipe wall of the primary coolant system can be repaired and the reactor returned to service.
The repair comprises the introduction of a sleeve into a section of pipework of the primary cooling system where corrosion and deformation have taken place. The sleeve will be installed using remote handling equipment and fixed in position by way of mechanical clamps.
Repair requires considerable effort
The repair of the HFR is a particularly complex matter and requires considerable effort on the part of NRG, Uddcomb and the other external parties involved. The pipework section of the primary coolant system in question happens to be contained in concrete and is difficult to access. This complicates the repair process and demands rigorous preparation. NRG has, together with Uddcomb and other external consultants, made every effort to develop an appropriate solution for the technical problem, such that it can be solved as efficiently and as quickly as possible. On the basis of knowledge gathered worldwide, the definitive preparations for the repair have now commenced.
Isotope market coordinates production to minimise shortages
NRG contributes to between 30 and 40% of the world wide medical isotope production. As a result of the unplanned outage of the HFR, shortages have arisen on the market for medical isotopes which will now continue up to mid- February. During a meeting of the Association or Imaging Producers & Equipment Suppliers (AIPES) on 13th October, NRG gave an explanation of the HFR situation to enable the other players on the isotope market to take their own measures to limit the shortages as far as possible. The conclusion drawn from the meeting is that, with the HRF out of service, continued supply will be limited, with delivery vulnerable and with limited guarantee. By means of mutual agreement AIPES is in search of ways to minimise the shortages. AIPES represents not only the pharmaceutical industry but also the reactors responsible for isotope production. This organisation has, amongst others, the aim of maintaining the certainty of supply of isotopes.
Alternative molybdenum supply
NRG has regular contact with customers and supports them wherever possible in developing alternative supply possibilities. This initiative has lead to the development of an alternative supply for medical isotopes in collaboration with the Belgian IRE, the French CEA and Covidien in Petten. The collaboration made it possible to irradiate the targets from IRE in the French Osiris-reactor in France and to process them via the pharmaceutical company Covidien in the Netherlands. In this way for the past two weeks the only available reactor in Europe with production capacity has been coupled to the only available production line in Europe at the time. This has contributed significantly to limiting isotope shortages.
Background
On 21st August, NRG decided not to start up the High Flux Reactor at the end of a month of major maintenance and inspections. A trace of gas bubble was detected in the primary cooling system during the course of these inspections, caused by corrosion of the primary pipework of the primary cooling system of the reactor.
Read more: nrg.eu
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Written by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL)
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Friday, 22 May 2009 00:00 |
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) provides an update of activities related to the unplanned shutdown of NRU at Chalk River Laboratories
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) |
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Friday, 20 March 2009 14:10 |
 BBC Radio 4 The Material World feature on problems with the supply of medical radio-isotopes.
Society seems to have fallen out of love with nuclear technology four decades ago, but one accidental victim of this is medical diagnosis, which is dependent on radio-isotopes created in nuclear reactors that can trace diseased tissue and defective metabolism.
Foremost among these radio-isotopes is technetium-99m, used in 80 per cent of nuclear medical procedures.
Quentin Cooper hears how the prolonged closure of several ageing reactors late last year for repairs and maintenance led to drastic shortages of the material, and of proposals to secure supplies in the future.
Guests, Medical Physicist Alan Perkins, and Dewi Lewis of GE Healthcare.
Listen again: BBC.co.uk |
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Written by Alan Perkins, Honorary Secretary, BNMS
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Friday, 07 December 2007 15:37 |
The BNMS is assured that the disruption to the supply of Mo-99 in Canada, that has been picked up by various news agencies, is not likely to have any impact on the availability of technetium generators in the UK.
We have been assured by Covidien (UK) Commercial Ltd (previously Tyco Healthcare), Quados (CIS) and GE Healthcare that they do not expect any disruption to normal supplies.
GE healthcare have issued the following statement.
"There are no current supply issues of Drytec generators from The Grove Centre, UK, as a result of the Molybdenum-99 shortage in North America. Molybdenum-99 is procured for GEHC Technetium-99m Drytec generator production at The Grove Centre from sources other than Nordion/AECL. Drytec generators are not available in the US market."
Veronica Botet Garcia
(Global Communications Director for any media enquiries)
Mobile: +34 629 085281
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
All other customer enquires regarding orders and availability should go via the normal Customer Service organisation.
Alan Perkins
Honorary Secretary
BNMS |
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