A pioneer in nuclear medicine, NRU continues to produce the majority of the world’s medical isotopes used in both the diagnosis and treatment of life-threatening diseases.
Isotopes from NRU benefit more than 76,000 people each day, more than 20 million people internationally each year – an amazing contribution to world health. It routinely produces about 30 per cent of the worldwide molybdenum-99 requirements, and is capable of safely ramping up production to address short-term shortfalls in the world supply.
One of the NRU reactor's most important contributions to health is without a doubt the cobalt-60 it produces. Cobalt-60 accounts for 16 million cancer therapy treatments each year and was the original innovation of the NRX reactor through which Canada launched the modern field of nuclear medicine. The first cancer treatments using cobalt-60 were delivered at hospitals in Ontario and Saskatchewan in 1951. Today, cobalt-60 from NRU treats cancer patients in 80 countries around the world.
Canada has made impressive contributions to world health care, and Canadian scientists continue to research nuclear medicine techniques and explore the vastly refined techniques of medical science.
Isotopes produced at AECL’s Chalk River Laboratories include:
Molybdenum-99: Used for medical diagnosis (imaging) of the brain, thyroid, heart, lungs, liver, kidney, spleen and bone marrow.
Iodine-131: An isotope used in therapy, imaging and diagnosis (primarily for thyroid cancer).
Iodine-125: Used in in-vitro diagnostic kits (radio immunoassays), bone densitometry devices, protein iodination and therapeutic seed (implants often used in prostate cancer treatment).
Xenon-133: A medical diagnosis tool, especially for scanning lungs.
High Specific Activity (SA) Cobalt-60: Nickel plated Cobalt-59 pellets are irradiated in NRU for two to four years, becoming High SA Co-60. The High SA Co-60 produced in NRU is primarily used in cancer treatment applications.
Iridium-192: Used as intense source of radiation for industrial imaging, including radiography and weld-inspection. Also used in portable units for cancer therapy and radiography.
Visit Heath Canada's website for additional information on medical isotopes:
Medical Isotopes - Frequently Asked Questions