Canada's isotope failure felt worldwide

TORONTO, June 16 (UPI) -- Canada's inability to produce one-third of the world's medical isotopes any longer has created an international dilemma, a leading nuclear doctor said.

Speaking at a news conference in Toronto at the annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, outgoing president, Dr. Robert Atcher said the closure of Canada's Chalk River nuclear facility due to a heavy water leak May 15 was being felt worldwide.

"The patient community is facing one of its greatest threats in modern times: The lack of access to a reliable, consistent supply of the most important medical isotopes used in the effective detection and evaluation of patients with cancer, heart and brain diseases," he said.

Making the shortage worse, an isotope-producing facility in the Netherlands is going offline soon for month-long scheduled maintenance, Sun Media reported.

There are only five facilities in the world that create radioactive isotopes, and the average age of the plants is 47 years, the report said.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Canada would gradually withdraw from manufacturing isotopes by 2016.

To deal with the shortage in Canada, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq regulatory approval for isotopes from an Australian reactor had been granted, but it isn't working yet, the report said.