AECL aborts reactor development
The decision “is based on a series of reviews that considered, among other things, the costs of further development, as well as the time frame and risks involved with continuing the project,” the federal Crown corporation said.
The MAPLE reactors, described as the first in the world dedicated entirely to medical isotope production, were intended to be capable of supplying the entire global demand for molybdenum-99, iodine-131, iodine-125 and xenon-133.
AECL said the decision to abort them “will not impact the current supply of medical isotopes.”
It said contracts with MDS Nordion provide for production to continue at AECL's existing National Research Universal reactor in Chalk River.
“We are making the right business decision given the circumstances,” AECL president Hugh MacDiarmid said.
“Our board of directors and senior management have concluded that it is no longer feasible to complete the commissioning and start-up of the reactors.”
The NRU reactor has an operating licence from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission valid through October, 2011, and AECL said it will work with the commission and MDS Nordion to continue production beyond that date.
“We recognize the important role that NRU plays in the supply and delivery of medical isotopes to patients in North America and around the world,” Mr. MacDiarmid stated.
“AECL is committed to supplying medical isotopes from NRU in a safe and reliable manner.”
Related News

National Steel Car appealing decision in legal challenge of Ontario electricity fee it calls an unconstitutional tax
TORONTO - A manufacturer of steel rail cars is pursuing an appeal after its lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a major Ontario electricity fee was struck down earlier this year.
Lawyers for Hamilton, Ont.-based National Steel Car Ltd. filed a notice of appeal in July after Ontario Superior Court Justice Wendy Matheson ruled in June that an electricity fee, known as the global adjustment, was a regulatory charge, and not an unconstitutional tax used to finance policy goals, as National Steel Car alleges.
The company, the decision noted, began its legal crusade last year after seeing its electricity bills had “increased dramatically”…