Tories chart new course for medical isotopes

OTTAWA — By 2016, Canada will produce commercial quantities of medical isotopes without the controversial use of highly-enriched, weapons-grade uranium, the federal government has pledged.

The announcement follows news that Canada will ship 23,000 litres of highly-enriched uranium (HEU) liquid isotope waste to the United States, where U.S. President Barack Obama has made global civilian HEU reduction and repatriation one of his national security priorities.

Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, speaking Thursday to an Ottawa gathering of the Canadian Nuclear Association, said $25 million in additional federal funding is being awarded to three promising Canadian projects that use cyclotrons and linear accelerators in the production of life-saving technetium-99m (Tc-99m), the most widely used medical isotope in the world. Later with reporters, Oliver said the new isotope production technologies have been proven, but “what needs to be established is the production of a large amount that will be commercially available and we’re encouraged by the progress so far, it’s reached a fairly robust stage.”

Asked whether the new technologies can ensure a secure, commercial supply, Oliver said “we’re comfortable we can meet those objectives by 2016.”

Oliver also announced the government will “shortly” open a “competitive procurement process” to select a private-sector partner to manage and operate Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.’s (AECL) nuclear laboratories at Chalk River.