Whats being done to address shortages of medical isotopes?
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says the world is facing the risk of a supply problem as the demand for radioactive materials used in medicine continues to grow, and the reactors that produce them continue to age. When it’s operating, the Chalk River reactor produces enough isotopes to treat more than 76,000 people a day — more than 20 million a year. Almost half the reactors worldwide are between 40 and 49 years old. Only 14 per cent of them are under 20 years old. The agency notes that no new isotope production facilities have been commissioned for years. In November 2008, the IAEA released a collection of recommended practices, which was drafted to help the operators of research reactors run their facilities safely and reliably. In February 2009, the agency brought together representatives of 16 countries to try to come up with strategies to address challenges to the reliable supply of technetium-99. The isotope is used in medical tests as a radioactive tracer that med
