Toronto: A collaboration between Ontario Power Generation's subsidiary Canadian Nuclear Partners (CNP) and a subsidiary of BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT) announced June 20 that Darlington Nuclear will be the first large scale commercial nuclear power station worldwide to produce molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), a critical medical isotope that is used in over 30 million diagnostic and medical procedures each year.
BWXT and Bruce Power made a similar announcement July 12.
Molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) is the parent isotope of technetium-99 (Tc-99m), which is used for skeletal, brain and organ imaging to detect and diagnose harmful conditions, including heart disease and cancer. Canada's National Research Universal (NRU) reactor in the Chalk River facility ceased regular production of Mo-99 in 2016, leaving North America without a large-scale domestic supply of Mo-99. Hospitals and health providers were forced to import this radioisotope from Europe, Africa and Australia. Returning Mo-99 and Tc-99m production to Canada will result in a continuous domestic and North American supply of the critical medical supply.
OPG explains that Darlington's CANDU reactors allow for the insertion and removal of medical isotope targets while producing electricity, allowing for a continuous supply of Mo-99. BWXT will process the targets from Darlington to produce Tc-99m generators. Subject to Canadian regulatory reviews and approvals, production of Mo-99 at Darlington is expected to start by the end of 2019.