Hamilton's reactor ready to step up and replace NRU

A research reactor at McMaster University in Hamilton could be producing all the medical isotopes Canada needs — and then some — in as little as 18 months, the manager of the facility told a House of Commons committee Tuesday.

But Christopher Heysel said a speedy transformation of the McMaster reactor from a multi-purpose research machine to a high-volume isotope producer needs co-operation of other “stakeholders,” including Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., the federal government and the nuclear safety regulator. The transformation would be relatively cheap as well, just $30 million over five years, Heysel said.

The option Heysel presented to the House of Commons natural resources committee represents the nearest thing to a silver bullet to solving Canada's isotope shortage, a shortage doctors have said is putting the health and safety of cancer and heart-disease patients at risk. The world is experiencing a critical isotope shortage since the shutdown last month of the 52-year-old NRU reactor at Chalk River, Ont., which makes nearly half the world's supply. [Read the rest of the story]

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