Some might celebrate the shutdown of a nuclear plant. But the temporary closure of the near Ottawa, Canada, has meant the widespread cancellation of medical tests because of shortages of the radioisotopes it produces.
The plant provides more than half of the world’s supply of molybdenum-99. This breaks down to technetium-99m, which is used in around 80 per cent of nuclear imaging procedures, including heart, bone and kidney scans. Doctors often rely on imaging to decide treatment.
Chalk River was closed for scheduled maintenance on 18 November and was supposed to reopen by 23 November,…
