Isotope shortage leads to cancelled medical exams

From the National Post:
The worldwide supply of medical isotopes used to help diagnose a host of health problems, including cancer and cardiovascular disease, may be in short supply in the weeks and months ahead because of an extended shutdown at a Canadian nuclear reactor.

The reactor in Chalk River, Ont., about 180 kilometres northwest of Ottawa, provides the raw material from which MDS Nordion produces medical isotopes, which are injected into patients to help create images of the body for diagnostic purposes.

However, MDS Nordion announced Wednesday the planned shutdown at the Chalk River facility -- owned by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited -- had to be extended into the new year to conduct additional maintenance work. ...more