Isotope firm urges Ottawa to revive new reactors
Ottawa-based MDS Nordion wants a panel of international experts to weigh in on whether the shelved MAPLE project at the heart of its $1.6 billion lawsuit against Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. and the Canadian government should be revived as a long-term solution to the fragile global supply.
"I think these are exceptional circumstances," MDS Nordion president Steve West said in an interview, on why his company decided to break the silence on its dispute over the project.
MDS Nordion has an exclusive revenue-sharing agreement with AECL to distribute the isotopes produced by the NRU reactor, which is now expected to be out of service for at least three months.
"We felt that we had to encourage the government to bring in this consortium of experts to restart the MAPLE project because it really truly is the only viable option going forward for a secure long-term supply of isotopes," West said.
The government supported an AECL decision to cancel the MAPLE 1 and MAPLE 2 reactors in May 2008 due to design flaws and significant cost overruns.
Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt said that MDS Nordion could submit its proposal to an expert panel reviewing alternatives but reviving the project would not be a quick fix. "I wouldn't want people to think that it can just be switched on because it simply cannot," Raitt told reporters.
Related News
Salmon and electricity at center of Columbia River treaty negotiations
VANCOUVER - With talks underway between Canada and the U.S. on the future of the Columbia River Treaty, the B.C. New Democrats have launched public consultations in the region most affected by the high-stakes negotiation.
“We want to ensure Columbia basin communities are consulted, kept informed and have their voices heard,” said provincial cabinet minister Katrine Conroy via a press release announcing meetings this month in Castlegar, Golden, Revelstoke, Nakusp, Nelson and other communities.
As well as having cabinet responsibility for the talks, Conroy’s Kootenay West riding includes several places that were inundated under the terms of the 1964 flood control and…
