Prime Minister Stephen Harper says that Canada will be getting out of the medical isotope business.
Canada produces at least one-third of the world’s medical isotopes, which are used in cancer and heart scans, at the aging Chalk River facility.
At a news conference, Harper said that the plan is to bring Chalk River, now out of service, back online and working as long as possible, while working with the global community and private business for alternatives sources.
Officials say the Chalk River reactor is planned to continue operating until 2016, at which point other countries and businesses would take over to meet global demand.
Harper said it was a difficult decision but hundreds of millions of dollars thrown at the alternatives sources of medical isotopes weren’t working and didn’t produce a single isotope.
“For whatever reason, Atomic Energy was not able to make that project work. There was no prospect that it would work,” Harper said.
“What we’ve decided to do instead was to invest money to repair the (Chalk River) reactor to keep it online for a longer period of time while other sources around the world come online.
“But obviously we will continue to have difficulties with a reactor that is very old, and whose operation is not always dependable and predictable … That’s just the tough reality of the situation.”
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Opposition pile-on backfires!
Good for the PM. He has made the hard decision that we as Canadians cannot afford this losing venture called Chalk River. The plug should have been pulled many years ago. Previous Liberal governments just didn’t have the guts to take the flack. Its a win – win – the greenies will not have anything to protest and copious handwringing will now be rewarded – “no more nukes” and the long suffering taxpayer will win when we stop pouring money into an obsolete facility.
Perhaps it’s the right choice for the moment – for political reasons – but I’d still like to know it was possible for AEC to make a prototype MAPLE reactor for the Koreans (the HANARO reactor) – and it’s producing medical isotopes, while at the same time, work on the MAPLE reactors in Canada has been scrapped.
In the long run, this is yet another industry that was born and bred in Canada, only to be abandoned. And that’s not what should be happening.
This doesn’t add up at all. And this isn’t a Conservative or Liberal problem; it seems systemic with Atomic Energy: off shore, they can produce on time and under budget, but at home, it seems efforts to build new power (or medical/research) reactors go nowhere. It’s an indictment of the whole Canadian nuclear infrastructure – are there too many anti-nuclear activists within the bureaucracy calling the shots? Too much government interference? Too much corruption? Something stinks here – and the loss of Canada’s’ ability to produce medical isotopes is only the tip of the iceberg.
Albera produces isotopes – for Albertans.
Amazing what one can find out when they google-Chalk River or AECL.
I think one of the biggest problems has been the patronage appointments to the boards etc by liberals. It was a place to go to appear intelligent and get a big paycheque.
It also seems the main purpose of these boards was to CYA and ignore the problems.
AECL lied and the media has ignored that, even now. More sexy to go after a female conservative, in an effort to get the seat back for the liberals. Should she be defeated I hope it is by the NDP.
Dear Jema54, thankyou for the information on Alberta producing medical isotopes. I tried to find information on this but was stymied. Can you elaborate?
Yeah, Harper did the right thing…. it’s really, really (really) hard being depended upon for important stuff on the international stage — quitting is the best possible thing we could do………
(just in case [/end sarcasm])
The reason that so few countries are producing medical isotopes, despite the fact that there are plenty of capable research reactors around the world, is that medical isotope production is not a viable business. In fact it is a huge money loser that carries huge risks, namely the possibility of a meltdown or other accident. Such research reactors cost billions to build and maintain, but medical isotopes only return millions in revenues, or a small fraction of what they, in reality, cost to produce, so why should Canadian taxpayers continue to take all the risks and lose hundreds of millions of dollars while subsidizing one third to one half the world’s supply?
It was one thing when Canada had proven research reactors already built for other purposes that could do the job, but they are now too old and no longer cost efficient. Canadian taxpayers have been subsidizing the world’s supply of medical isotopes for decades now, taking all the risks as well as huge losses through AECL, so Harper is right to force his hand in an attempt to get a few more countries, or NGOs, or private entities to chip in and find alternative solutions or perhaps help us to defray the costs of production.
fernstalbert – Edmonton is a reaserch centre for heart and cancer research. It is a state of the art facility built by the Alberta government under Ralph Kline. The isotopes are produced for the scientists, doctors and researchers who work and study at this amazing hospital.
Dear Jema54: Thankyou for your information. I am a proud to say that as an Albertan my family, friends and fellow citizens have received the best care available through the University of Alberta. I did not know that it was possible to produce medical isotopes without a nuclear reactor. So why don’t other provinces do the same?
Exactly Brian S… it’s not only hard to be depended upon by the global community for important stuff but sometimes it’s expensive – we’re better off leaving the stage and letting others do it, it’s easier that way isn’t it?
This is certainly an example of how Canadians should conduct themselves that I hope my grandchildren take to heart, and when they are older I’ll make sure to recount the valuable lesson our government has offered to all of us….. don’t they make ya feel all proud and patriotic and stuff?
(just in case [/end sarcasm])
Dear fernsalbert,
I think that it is expensive .
From all reports, the Maple reactor has had clear problems, maybe serious defects from the get-go. It’s not viable and other reports say it takes betwen 5-7 years to build another one. Whereas other internationals are prepared to pick up the industry and produce the isotopes. It’s a good economic decision for Canada saving billions while also being an an anti-protectionist measure for Canada — ceding an industry that others can run with. Those billion dollar savings now can and will be allocated elsewhere.
Here’s a general comment re the information that Jema54 has provided on this subject – if Alberta can produce isotopes for its own citizens, why can’t Alberta ramp up production and sell isotopes to the rest of Canada. Would it be feasible?