Traws in frame for nuclear medical facility plans put forward by Welsh Govt
MAJOR new plans to site a medical nuclear reactor in North Wales have been unveiled. Welsh Government says it wants to work with UK Government to make Wales a global centre of excellence and the leading location for medical radioisotope production.
In the UK, across Europe, and further afield, the equipment in facilities currently producing life-saving radioactive substances, known as medical radioisotopes, which are critical to cancer diagnosis and treatment, are coming to the end of their productive life and being closed.
As a result, by 2030, the UK faces a reality of having no medical radioisotopes, or the “ethical nightmare” of having to ration them.
In response, the Welsh Government has developed plans to secure the supply of medical radioisotopes for Wales and the UK through the development of project ARTHUR (Advanced Radioisotope Technology for Health Utility Reactor).
Based in north west Wales - potentially Trawsfynydd - the Project ARTHUR facility will be a public sector ‘National Laboratory’ with its own nuclear reactor.
It would produce medical radioisotopes and supply them to NHS Wales and the other National Health Services in England, Scotland & Northern Ireland.
Project ARTHUR will be a major Welsh and UK strategic initiative and is a multi-decade endeavour – a commitment of some 60 to 70 years.
Once up and running, it will then be one of a few facilities in the world focusing primarily on medical radionuclide production.
As well as providing vital services for the NHS across the UK, it will also help stimulate the North Wales economy by attracting highly skilled jobs and industry, create a surrounding infrastructure, build local supply chains, and support local communities.
The project is a major collaborative development between the Welsh Government’s Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Economy.
However, to succeed, funding needs to be secured from different sources including the UK Government - to create project ARTHUR.
Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething
said: “Today, I am pleased to set out a clear ambition for creating another major technological cluster here in Wales, while also tackling a fast-approaching crisis for medical treatment right around the world. Our vision is the creation of project ARTHUR - a world-leading nuclear medicine facility, which will bring together a critical mass of nuclear science research, development, and innovation.
“Through this development, not only can Wales become the leading place in the UK for medical radioisotope production – producing life-saving medical radioisotopes that are critical to cancer diagnosis and treatment – but we can also attract higher skilled jobs, create a surrounding infrastructure, support local communities, and build local supply chains.
“This project will be vital in helping us deliver on our commitments to creating a healthier and more prosperous Wales, by creating the opportunities people need to make their futures here in Wales.”
The project’s vision includes creating a ‘technology campus’ in North Wales, to parallel other UK campuses with a nuclear element, such as those at Harwell (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory) and Culham (UK Atomic Energy Authority) in Oxfordshire, and at Daresbury (STFC nuclear physics laboratory) in Cheshire.
The Minister added: “The scale of investment needed to bring Project ARTHUR to life is considerable. I am calling on the UK Government to cooperate in supporting our efforts, since this development benefits and supports future cancer diagnostics and treatment right across the UK. Now is the time for decisive action and commitment.
“The implications of not acting will be counted in human lives and in long-term economic pressure on health services, through unsustainable health treatments.”