Ottawa earmarks $6 million for medical isotopes
OTTAWA, CANADA - The federal government will provide $6 million toward developing medical isotopes that could eventually replace the kind in short supply since the shutdown of the aging nuclear reactor at Chalk River.
"Our government is taking several measures to address the medical needs of Canadians during this medical isotope shortage," Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said in a statement. "One course of action we are actively pursuing is funding research that would provide alternatives to the principal isotope produced at Chalk River."
The initiative would not deal with the current shortage of technetium-99, the decay product of the molybdenum-99 medical isotope produced at Chalk River that is used in the majority of nuclear medicine procedures.
The money would not begin to flow until after the 52-year-old National Research Universal reactor is expected to be back up and running in the fall.
The research money will be delivered by two granting councils: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
The deadline to apply for funding is September 15 and the money would start October 31.
Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. extended an unexpected shutdown of the reactor after discovering a heavy-water leak.
AECL expects the reactor to be out of service for at least three months.
Related News
Severe heat: 5 electricity blackout risks facing the entire U.S., not just Texas
DALLAS - Texas has a unique state-run power grid, but its issues with extreme weather, and balancing natural gas and wind, hold lessons for an entire U.S. at risk for power outages from climate change.
Grid operator the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, called on consumers to voluntarily reduce power use on Monday when dangerous heat gripped America’s second-most populous state.
The action paid off as the Texas grid avoided blackouts — and a repeat of its winter crisis — despite record or near-record temperatures that depleted electric supplies and risked lost power to more than 26 million customers. ERCOT…
