Accessibility and Access Keys [0]
A power outage in eastern Ontario last week could lead to a shortage of medical isotopes after a nuclear reactor was turned off at Chalk River Laboratories, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. said.
In a statement released Monday evening, AECL said the National Research Universal reactor at the Chalk River, Ont., facility, about 180 km west of Ottawa, was “safely shut down” on Thursday due to a “shortage in electrical power.”
The following day, a leak of heavy water, or water that acts as a stabilizer during nuclear fission, was found in the NRU reactor, the statement said. The heavy water has been contained and poses “no threat to workers, the public, the environment or nuclear safety related to this event.”
The AECL said it estimates the NRU reactor will be out of service for a month while repairs are made to fix the leak. Because of the stoppage, the AECL said isotope shortages will occur as early as May 23.
The 52-year-old Chalk River facility produces about half of the world’s medical isotopes.
The isotopes are used to screen for illnesses such as cancer and heart disease.
In 2007, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission shut down the reactor for four weeks after a routine maintenance check found safety provisions at the plant were lacking.
The decision to suspend operations caused a critical shortage of life-saving medical isotopes and prompted the government to persuade Parliament to override the nuclear regulator and allow the reactor to be restarted.
CNSC president Linda Keen was fired in January 2008 by the Harper government for authorizing the shutdown.
In December 2008, a small heavy-water leak shut down the reactor for three days before being restarted.
With files from the Ottawa Citizen
© Copyright Canwest News Service