by
Brendon Nafziger, DOTmed News Associate Editor | February 02, 2010
The re-start of one of the world's most important medical isotope-producing reactors has been pushed back a month, DOTmed News confirms.
The Atomic Energy of Canada Limited reported on Wednesday that the National Research Universal Reactor's extensive repairs to fix a heavy water leak detected last May will continue until at least April, a possibility raised in an AECL communication published in mid-January.
Earlier estimates from the Canadian nuclear power group suggested a March return for the Chalk River, Ontario-based NRU, once responsible for nearly 40 percent of the globe's supply of molybdenum-99, the precursor to technetium-99, an isotope widely used in nuclear medicine.
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AECL blames the delay on the difficulty in getting specially-made equipment into the reactor.
"In light of the continuing technical challenges, the project team has reviewed the return-to-service work plan," reads the AECL statement.
In a video update, David Cox, NRU's return-to-service project director, described the complexity of the repair effort, including sending teams to coat the vessel walls with aluminum shielding to prevent further damage or corrosion.
