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OTTAWA — The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has renewed Atomic Energy of Canada’s licence to operate its Chalk River nuclear reactor, effectively ensuring the world of a long-term supply of medical isotopes to treat cancer patients.
The widely expected decision was announced Thursday following public hearings the commission held earlier this month and in June during which the commission received submissions from Atomic Energy as well as various interveners and staff. The licence was renewed for a five-year period, commencing Nov. 1 and running until 2016.
The commission said it was “satisfied” that Atomic Energy meets the requirements of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act.
The commission’s decision allows Atomic Energy to continue producing medical isotopes at its National Research Universal reactor, which is the world’s oldest operating reactor and has for decades produced much of world’s medical isotopes.
The reactor was shut down in May 2009 for 15 months after it began leaking heavy water, resulting in a shortage of the isotopes that forced hospitals and doctors around the world to seek alternative supplies. It was restarted in August 2010.
Nordion, which operates a state-of-the-art plant on March Road where the raw isotopes produced by the NRU reactor are purified and refined for medical usage, welcomed the commission’s licence renewal.
“We continue to have full confidence in AECL’s Chalk River facilities,” company spokeswoman Natasha Gauthier said in a prepared statement. “Nordion is committed to providing a reliable, safe long-term supply of medical isotopes to our customers, physicians, and patients.”
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