Fucking Canadians! I myself had several test carried out with this element over the years, this shortage is going to kill a lot of people. :mad:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/12/11/the_missing_element
QuoteThe Missing Element
Why an aging Canadian nuclear reactor could keep U.S. patients from getting the care they need.
BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | DECEMBER 11, 2009
Every day, U.S. doctors perform more than 50,000 state-of-the-art procedures using a radioactive isotope called technetium-99. Injecting technetium into a patient allows doctors to monitor the blood supply to the heart, look at cardiac function in chemotherapy patients, see whether certain cancers have spread to a patient's bones, or monitor a tumor during breast cancer surgery.
COMMENTS (8) SHARE:
Digg
Facebook
Reddit
Bookmark and Share More...
Most patients take for granted their ability to undergo these procedures. But they might be surprised to learn that nuclear medicine in the United States is dependent on one 52-year-old, leak-prone nuclear reactor that is currently offline, should have been shut down for safety reasons a decade ago, and moreover, undermines international nuclear nonproliferation goals.
How did we get into this predicament? In short: Blame Canada.
The National Research Universal (NRU) reactor in Chalk River, Ontario, supplies about one-third of the world's supply and about half of the U.S. supply of the molybdenum isotope that decays to form technetium. The reactor, built in 1957, is operated by the government-owned company Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. The reactor was first shut down for safety only a year after it opened, when a nuclear fuel rod caught fire, and it has suffered sporadic accidents and outages ever since. In 2007, after the reactor was shut down for a safety upgrade, the Canadian government, due to fears of an isotope shortage, ordered it open again over the objections of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
Canada's Natural Resources Ministry, which oversees the nuclear power industry, never intended for the NRU reactor to still be operating. Construction of two new reactors, known as MAPLE 1 and 2, began in 1996 after it became clear the NRU reactor was nearing the end of its useful life. The MAPLES were supposed to have become operational in 2000, but after numerous construction delays and unresolved safety issues and hundreds of millions of dollars spent, they were finally scuttled by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government in 2006.
So the NRU reactor was left to sputter on alone, without backup. This May, the inevitable happened: A leak of radioactive water was detected at the facility, and it was again shut down.
The government's handling of the isotope debacle has been a front-page political story in Canada, particularly after Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt was caught on tape describing it as a "sexy" issue that she wanted to resolve to further her political career. Raitt later issued a tearful public apology to cancer patients.
Because disruptions to medical care have been minor in the United States so far, the issue hasn't garnered much attention below the border. But that could change in March. Since the NRU reactor went down, a Dutch reactor in Petten has been picking up the technetium slack, along with smaller reactors in Belgium, France, and South Africa. But starting in late March, Petten, itself a 48-year-old dinosaur plagued by technical glitches, will be off-line for scheduled maintenance.
The Canadian Natural Resources Ministry expects the NRU reactor "will return to service in the first quarter of 2010," according to spokesperson Micheline Joanisse. But that date has already been pushed back several times. And even if the reactor does go back online in 2010, it's unclear how much longer it can stay operational. The University of Texas at Austin's Alan Kuperman, a former senior policy analyst for the Nuclear Control Institute, notes the fragility of the situation. "Even if the Canadian reactor comes back online, we're only going to be one blip from a major supply crisis," he says.
This would be a serious blow to hospitals and cancer patients in the United States and abroad. "If the Canadian reactor isn't up and running, we're going to really be struggling come April," says Robert Atcher, director of the National Isotope Data Center and former president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, who thinks that current technetium supplies are enough for only about two-thirds of global demand. Depending on how long the United States goes without a reliable supply of technetium, the effect could be anything from a minor irritation to a major catastrophe. In Canadian hospitals, which were almost entirely dependent on domestic technetium supplies and are already feeling the pinch, some nuclear-medicine practitioners report canceling the majority of their diagnostics, and tests for heart damage and the spread of cancers have been delayed for weeks, with untold financial and health costs.
Giuseppe Esposito, director of nuclear medicine at Georgetown University Hospital, says that his department hasn't felt the effects of the shortage yet, but that a more permanent disruption would make many of his regular procedures impossible to carry out. "For lung and bone imaging, there really are no substitutes [to technetium]," he says.
You might think that, given the relatively small number of suppliers, the United States, which accounts for about 50 percent of global demand for technetium, would have wanted to develop its own supply. And indeed, there were plans to build a reactor for medical use in New Mexico in the mid-1990s. But the project was abandoned after Canadian authorities made what Atcher describes as a "compelling case" that the ill-fated MAPLE facility would meet international demand.
Joanisse denies that the Canadian government misrepresented the state's production capabilities to its customers. "All along, our message to the international community has been simple," she said via e-mail. "We rely on ageing reactors and a fragile supply chain. There is a collective responsibility to bring forward additional sources of supply and to manage available supplies responsibly, particularly in periods of shortage."
But given the costs of building a nuclear reactor, governments, including the U.S. government, were all too happy to let Canada shoulder the burden. "No one wants to spend the money and political capital to build a new reactor these days," says Edwin Lyman, senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists' global security program. "Everyone put their eggs in the Canadian basket."
Faced with the possibility of a technetium shortage within coming years or even months, the U.S. government is finally taking action. A bill passed in the House of Representatives and under consideration in the Senate would allocate $163 million to investigate new methods for producing medical isotopes. Although this money probably isn't enough to build even a single reactor, it's the first step the United States has taken in years to developing isotope independence. A research reactor in Missouri is also being converted to produce isotopes, though Lyman notes that even under the best conditions, "there won't be a stable substitute ... for at least three years."
Most importantly, the proposed legislation would also specify how medical isotopes are made. Both the Canadian and Dutch reactors produce technetium from bomb-grade highly enriched uranium, a situation that keeps nonproliferation experts up at night.
"The Canadian government always gets up and says, 'We're a leader on nonproliferation,'" U.T. Austin's Kuperman says. "But they're also the country in the world using the largest amount of bomb-grade uranium for civilian purposes. You can't have it both ways."
Under the proposed legislation, all suppliers to the U.S. market would be required to use safer, though slightly more expensive, low-enriched uranium. An expert panel convened by Canada's Natural Resource Ministry recommended last week that the country switch entirely to low-enriched uranium, though in the short term highly-enriched will continue to be used at the NRU reactor.
In any event, Canada's days as a leader in medical isotopes seem to be over. The Natural Resource Ministry's panel recommended the construction of a brand-new multipurpose research reactor, though given the emergency measures that other countries are taking -- the Netherlands and Australia are also looking to boost their production capacity -- it's not clear that there will still be a market by the time it is completed.
In June, Harper said, "Eventually, we anticipate Canada will be out of the business" of producing medical isotopes -- a realization that patients around the world might have wished for a decade ago.
Quotegovernments, including the U.S. government, were all too happy to let Canada shoulder the burden
I like Timmay's somewhat misplaced rage.
How dares Canada shut down a reactor when it's unsafe for the local community. The nerve.
And how dare they not build a new one because it's convenient for other people.
Truly outrageous.
Quote from: Jacob on December 13, 2009, 07:07:01 PM
How dares Canada shut down a reactor when it's unsafe for the local community. The nerve.
And how dare they not build a new one because it's convenient for other people.
Truly outrageous.
Other people? Canada relies on it's domestic supply for these tests. It's only the US that's getting the shaft, the cancer patients of Canada are as well.
I don't think it was shut down just to be mean. Maybe there was a good reason behind it.
[qute] the United States, which accounts for about 50 percent of global demand for technetium,[/quote]
I found this interesting.
The rest of the story is he said/she said.
What really happened at the reactor:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi48.tinypic.com%2F2e51gtx.gif&hash=d7c3df1b63541000347a92fc4fdef5538181809c)
Yeah, I agree that the fed's gestion of the whole Chalk River affair is farcical.
"screwed over" would imply this was done deliberately Tim. :rolleyes:
Quote from: Barrister on December 13, 2009, 07:53:04 PM
"screwed over" would imply this was done deliberately Tim. :rolleyes:
QuoteYou might think that, given the relatively small number of suppliers, the United States, which accounts for about 50 percent of global demand for technetium, would have wanted to develop its own supply. And indeed, there were plans to build a reactor for medical use in New Mexico in the mid-1990s. But the project was abandoned after Canadian authorities made what Atcher describes as a "compelling case" that the ill-fated MAPLE facility would meet international demand.
This is the meat of the "screwed over" case.
That was the title in the link to the story I clicked on, so I used it. In fact I made it more broad, since that said "screwed over US cancer patients".
However they did know what bad shape the reactor was in and still insisted that they would be able to supply the element and dissuaded the US from building a reactor.
Well this has me inexplicably wanting to watch the South Park movie again so I can hear the Blame Canada! song. Ever since I was laid off to outsource to a bunch of burger flippers in Newfoundland I've looked for excuses.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on December 13, 2009, 07:57:44 PM
That was the title in the link to the story I clicked on, so I used it. In fact I made it more broad, since that said "screwed over US cancer patients".
However they did know what bad shape the reactor was in and still insisted that they would be able to supply the element and dissuaded the US from building a reactor.
Yeah unfortunately AECL is a poster child for government-run incompetence.
And I mean unfortunate - I worked there for a 4 month term in the mid 90s and quite liked the place and the work.
Meh.
Most patients take for granted their ability to undergo these procedures. But they might be surprised to learn that nuclear medicine in the United States is dependent on one 52-year-old, leak-prone nuclear reactor that is currently offline, should have been shut down for safety reasons a decade ago, and moreover, undermines international nuclear nonproliferation goals.
How did we get into this predicament? In short: Blame Canada.
I don't care to blame Canada, because the US and/or other nations that rely on this medicine should have been assisting, building facilities or what ever is needed to do so safely and properly, to produce this medicine. So it is stupifyingly dumb assed and outrageous that a teetering, broken, unsafe facility is counted on for this.
Quote from: Ed Anger on December 13, 2009, 07:25:28 PM
What really happened at the reactor:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi48.tinypic.com%2F2e51gtx.gif&hash=d7c3df1b63541000347a92fc4fdef5538181809c)
Hard Ticket to Hawaii...
Now that's a great cheesy movie :lol:
It is true that the supply chain of medical isotopes is fragile. There are, IIRC, 5 facilities in the whole world who produce medical isotopes: one in Canada, one in the Netherlands, one in Belgium, one in France and one in South-Africa.
Last year, the one in the Netherlands and the one in Belgium went down for emergency maintenance and as a result there was a severe shortage of isotopes in parts of Europe.
The sensible solution would be to build a few extra reactors and replace the ageing ones.
The Timmay solution: invade Canada and force them to uphold their isotope deliveries.
Give us money, we build an other one.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on December 13, 2009, 06:41:45 PM
this shortage is going to kill a lot of people. :mad:
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I approve of this. Cancer is supposed to kill people.
let's just send Tim some local water. then he can have all the isotopes he needs.
anyhow, MDS Nordion bought the isotopes business from AECL. if there's a shortage it's their error for not forward contracting with other facilities.
Quote from: BVN on December 14, 2009, 03:57:55 AM
It is true that the supply chain of medical isotopes is fragile. There are, IIRC, 5 facilities in the whole world who produce medical isotopes: one in Canada, one in the Netherlands, one in Belgium, one in France and one in South-Africa.
Last year, the one in the Netherlands and the one in Belgium went down for emergency maintenance and as a result there was a severe shortage of isotopes in parts of Europe.
The sensible solution would be to build a few extra reactors and replace the ageing ones.
The Timmay solution: invade Canada and force them to uphold their isotope deliveries.
apparently every single one of those facilities is over 40 years old. if nuclear medicine is useful (and profitable), why can't someone build a new one?
Quote from: saskganesh on December 14, 2009, 12:32:46 PM
Quote from: BVN on December 14, 2009, 03:57:55 AM
It is true that the supply chain of medical isotopes is fragile. There are, IIRC, 5 facilities in the whole world who produce medical isotopes: one in Canada, one in the Netherlands, one in Belgium, one in France and one in South-Africa.
Last year, the one in the Netherlands and the one in Belgium went down for emergency maintenance and as a result there was a severe shortage of isotopes in parts of Europe.
The sensible solution would be to build a few extra reactors and replace the ageing ones.
The Timmay solution: invade Canada and force them to uphold their isotope deliveries.
apparently every single one of those facilities is over 40 years old. if nuclear medicine is useful (and profitable), why can't someone build a new one?
I think you have your answer. It is enormously useful, but not profitable.
Or it could be profitable if governments exited the market.
I have first hand experience of isotope production at a reactor fairly similar to the ones mentioned. I could talk about the details but I don't think I will.
Quote from: The Brain on December 14, 2009, 01:12:09 PM
I have first hand experience of isotope production at a reactor fairly similar to the ones mentioned. I could talk about the details but I don't think I will.
A goat just walking past your window didnt it.
Quote from: Barrister on December 14, 2009, 12:41:43 PM
Quote from: saskganesh on December 14, 2009, 12:32:46 PM
Quote from: BVN on December 14, 2009, 03:57:55 AM
It is true that the supply chain of medical isotopes is fragile. There are, IIRC, 5 facilities in the whole world who produce medical isotopes: one in Canada, one in the Netherlands, one in Belgium, one in France and one in South-Africa.
Last year, the one in the Netherlands and the one in Belgium went down for emergency maintenance and as a result there was a severe shortage of isotopes in parts of Europe.
The sensible solution would be to build a few extra reactors and replace the ageing ones.
The Timmay solution: invade Canada and force them to uphold their isotope deliveries.
apparently every single one of those facilities is over 40 years old. if nuclear medicine is useful (and profitable), why can't someone build a new one?
I think you have your answer. It is enormously useful, but not profitable.
It can certainly be profitable. But of course to be profitable you have to run a good operation.
Quote from: BVN on December 14, 2009, 03:57:55 AM
The sensible solution would be to build a few extra reactors and replace the ageing ones.
indeed, but then idiots go all "omfg, nucular reactoers are teh evol!!"
Quote from: jimmy olsen on December 13, 2009, 07:12:20 PM
Other people? Canada relies on it's domestic supply for these tests. It's only the US that's getting the shaft, the cancer patients of Canada are as well.
Our hospitals have a shortage of isotopes and need to buy them for much much more money on the foreign market.
Build your own reactor? I mean, the US has been short sighted and decided to abandon the nuclear option a long time ago, and now you are paying for your lack of vision.
Blame your policies, not ours.
Looks like all the Canadians are rushing to accept the Canadian version and the Americans are rushing to accept the US version. :lol:
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 14, 2009, 04:18:34 PM
Looks like all the Canadians are rushing to accept the Canadian version and the Americans are rushing to accept the US version. :lol:
Here? Nope. I for one think it is stupid to be dependent on a bunch of flannel wearers for anything.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 14, 2009, 04:18:34 PM
Looks like all the Canadians are rushing to accept the Canadian version and the Americans are rushing to accept the US version. :lol:
Well, I'm rushing primarily to mock Timmy.
I for one applaud Canada's unilateral effort to rid the world of Timmyism. A bit late, but better late than never.
In other news:
Stem Cells Could Cure HIV (http://www.advocate.com/Health_and_Fitness/Ask_the_Doctor/More_on_HIV/Could_Stem_Cell_Discovery_Be_Cure_for_HIV_/)
I can already hear the shrieks coming from the religious right over this. :lol:
Quote from: viper37 on December 14, 2009, 04:16:54 PM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on December 13, 2009, 07:12:20 PM
Other people? Canada relies on it's domestic supply for these tests. It's only the US that's getting the shaft, the cancer patients of Canada are as well.
Our hospitals have a shortage of isotopes and need to buy them for much much more money on the foreign market.
Build your own reactor? I mean, the US has been short sighted and decided to abandon the nuclear option a long time ago, and now you are paying for your lack of vision.
Blame your policies, not ours.
We were going to build our own, but the powers that be foolishly trusted you when you said it wasn't needed (knowing that was not the case).
Quote from: Martinus on December 14, 2009, 05:11:15 PM
I for one applaud Canada's unilateral effort to rid the world of Timmyism. A bit late, but better late than never.
In other news:
Stem Cells Could Cure HIV (http://www.advocate.com/Health_and_Fitness/Ask_the_Doctor/More_on_HIV/Could_Stem_Cell_Discovery_Be_Cure_for_HIV_/)
I can already hear the shrieks coming from the religious right over this. :lol:
Don't worry. I'm sure you'll die of something else. Maybe cancer. That would be hillarious.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 14, 2009, 12:45:59 PM
Or it could be profitable if governments exited the market.
I doubt it. There's no way this could be profitable enough to justify the sheer monumental expense of building and maintaining a nuclear site.
Quote from: Neil on December 14, 2009, 10:03:44 PM
Quote from: Martinus on December 14, 2009, 05:11:15 PM
I for one applaud Canada's unilateral effort to rid the world of Timmyism. A bit late, but better late than never.
In other news:
Stem Cells Could Cure HIV (http://www.advocate.com/Health_and_Fitness/Ask_the_Doctor/More_on_HIV/Could_Stem_Cell_Discovery_Be_Cure_for_HIV_/)
I can already hear the shrieks coming from the religious right over this. :lol:
Don't worry. I'm sure you'll die of something else. Maybe cancer. That would be hillarious.
Foot cancer.
If the US had a deal with Canada just activate the non-compliance clauses and STFU.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on December 14, 2009, 10:02:09 PM
We were going to build our own, but the powers that be foolishly trusted you when you said it wasn't needed (knowing that was not the case).
No. You bowed to the Greens who considered nuclear energy to be the Ultimate Evil, alongside capitalism, and you abandonned this field of research with everything that comes with it.
Quote from: Barrister on December 14, 2009, 12:41:43 PM
I think you have your answer. It is enormously useful, but not profitable.
Try to build a nuclear reactor anywhere in Canada. Just try it.
People of Sept-Iles are already up in arms because a company wishes to prospect for uranium in a nearby site.
Figure if they were to build a nuclear reactor near Montreal, Toronto or even Calgary.
The left is gonna go insane.
The right too.
Quote from: viper37 on December 15, 2009, 12:55:32 PM
The left is gonna go insane.
Drives me nuts. Nuclear energy gives off no greenhouse gases and yet they are still up in arms. There is simply no pleasing some people.
Quote from: viper37 on December 15, 2009, 12:55:32 PM
Try to build a nuclear reactor anywhere in Canada. Just try it.
Do what Britain's doing: build them on the site of decommissioned nuclear reactors. The local community are generally supportive because they know it's not an eternal Chernobyl and many of them are employed in the nuclear industry.
I remember growing up near Dounreay and the news (when they discovered particles on the local beach) needed someone to take the anti-nuclear line it was always the same woman, President and Chairwoman of Caithness Against Nuclear Dumping. She was the only member. Most people in the community were pretty phlegmatic about it, because they lived in nuclear community and knew people in that industry they were aware, for example, that even with all of those particles the beach was considerably less radioactive than Cornwall (because of tin) or Aberdeen (because of granite).
Quote from: Sheilbh on December 14, 2009, 11:40:00 PM
I doubt it. There's no way this could be profitable enough to justify the sheer monumental expense of building and maintaining a nuclear site.
Brain can correct me if he decides to quit sulking in the corner, but medical/research reactors are not the same magnitude and cost as big power plants I believe.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 15, 2009, 02:12:38 PM
Quote from: Sheilbh on December 14, 2009, 11:40:00 PM
I doubt it. There's no way this could be profitable enough to justify the sheer monumental expense of building and maintaining a nuclear site.
Brain can correct me if he decides to quit sulking in the corner, but medical/research reactors are not the same magnitude and cost as big power plants I believe.
You are correct. I am in no position to estimate the cost of building a completely new reactor for isotope production but they are typically say 1/30th the size of a new power reactor, and as has been said there's plenty of room at existing nuclear sites. I suspect that many of the existing aging reactors can also be renovated or rebuilt for far less than a completely new one.
FWIW IIRC I once heard someone guesstimate the cost of replacing the Swedish isotope reactor (closed in 2005) at $100-200 million.
Quote from: The Brain on December 15, 2009, 02:26:22 PM
FWIW IIRC I once heard someone guesstimate the cost of replacing the Swedish isotope reactor (closed in 2005) at $100-200 million.
That appears to be cheap for the US. There's probably more pork spending in many typical dysfunctional Congressional bills. ;)
Quote from: Barrister on December 14, 2009, 12:41:43 PM
Quote from: saskganesh on December 14, 2009, 12:32:46 PM
Quote from: BVN on December 14, 2009, 03:57:55 AM
It is true that the supply chain of medical isotopes is fragile. There are, IIRC, 5 facilities in the whole world who produce medical isotopes: one in Canada, one in the Netherlands, one in Belgium, one in France and one in South-Africa.
Last year, the one in the Netherlands and the one in Belgium went down for emergency maintenance and as a result there was a severe shortage of isotopes in parts of Europe.
The sensible solution would be to build a few extra reactors and replace the ageing ones.
The Timmay solution: invade Canada and force them to uphold their isotope deliveries.
apparently every single one of those facilities is over 40 years old. if nuclear medicine is useful (and profitable), why can't someone build a new one?
I think you have your answer. It is enormously useful, but not profitable.
raise prices. insist Tim pay market value.
Quote from: Grey Fox on December 15, 2009, 01:07:08 PM
The right too.
Yep. The crazies are up in arms over a nuke plant being built near my wife's hometown.
Quote from: KRonn on December 15, 2009, 04:03:05 PM
That appears to be cheap for the US. There's probably more pork spending in many typical dysfunctional Congressional bills. ;)
But that's still a huge up-front cost for a business to take on (and it probably doesn't include the legal costs of planning applications required to build the thing), which is why I doubt that it could work as a purely private sector project.
Quote from: The Brain on December 15, 2009, 02:26:22 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 15, 2009, 02:12:38 PM
Quote from: Sheilbh on December 14, 2009, 11:40:00 PM
I doubt it. There's no way this could be profitable enough to justify the sheer monumental expense of building and maintaining a nuclear site.
Brain can correct me if he decides to quit sulking in the corner, but medical/research reactors are not the same magnitude and cost as big power plants I believe.
You are correct. I am in no position to estimate the cost of building a completely new reactor for isotope production
Then what the fuck good are you!
Quote from: katmai on December 15, 2009, 08:38:03 PM
Quote from: The Brain on December 15, 2009, 02:26:22 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 15, 2009, 02:12:38 PM
Quote from: Sheilbh on December 14, 2009, 11:40:00 PM
I doubt it. There's no way this could be profitable enough to justify the sheer monumental expense of building and maintaining a nuclear site.
Brain can correct me if he decides to quit sulking in the corner, but medical/research reactors are not the same magnitude and cost as big power plants I believe.
You are correct. I am in no position to estimate the cost of building a completely new reactor for isotope production
Then what the fuck good are you!
I have hidden qualities.
Quote from: Crazy_Ivan80 on December 14, 2009, 03:40:11 PM
Quote from: BVN on December 14, 2009, 03:57:55 AM
The sensible solution would be to build a few extra reactors and replace the ageing ones.
indeed, but then idiots go all "omfg, nucular reactoers are teh evol!!"
Well, maybe it's best then that those people are oblivious to the fact that several universities in our country have experimental reactors and that those facilities are located in urban centers... :P