Chalk River reactor repairs complete

Technetium-99 Shortage disrupted nuclear medicine across Canada after the Chalk River NRU reactor shutdown, CIHI reports, affecting cancer, cardiac, and lung imaging, forcing alternative isotopes, longer scan times, and higher costs.

Final repairs to the aging Chalk River reactor, which has been shut down for more than a year, are complete, says Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.

And not a moment too soon, suggests a survey of nuclear medicine specialists.

The survey, released by the Canadian Institute of Health Information CIHI, shows a clear impact on the diagnosis of cancers and heart and lung diseases in the months after the reactor was abruptly closed in May 2009, amid watchdog criticism of the aging research facility, shrivelling Canada’s supply of medical isotopes.

In October 2009, five months after the abrupt shutdown of Chalk River’s NRU reactor, nuclear medicine exams had shrunk by 22.5 for heart and bone exams, and by 16.2 for lung exams over the same period in 2008, when the reactor was still producing the medical isotope Technetium-99.

In a large number of cases, specialists were able to reschedule patient exams or use the isotope they received more efficiently, the study found. But about one-quarter of the specialists surveyed said they simply did fewer exams using Tc-99.

CIHI got answers to its survey from about two-thirds of the 262 nuclear medicine facilities in Canada.

Technetium-99 is a key isotope for diagnosing cancers, heart and lung disease, and bone fractures.

In some case, doctors made up for isotope shortages by using a lower dose of TC-99, or by exposing the patient to a longer scanning time. In almost one-third of cases, they used a different isotope.

Seventy per cent of those questioned cited increased costs and isotope backup worries as major disruptions in trying to manage the crisis.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission will hold a hearing June 28 to determine whether the Chalk River reactor can restart and begin producing medical isotopes in July.

“All requirements for the final repair have been met,” AECL officials said.

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