A nuclear reactor in Canada has stopped production of radioactive isotopes essential in the diagnosis and treatment of cancers, triggering fears of a worldwide shortage in the essential nuclear medicine.
Enter the reactor at Lucas Heights in south-west Sydney, which is run by the Australian Nuclear Science Technology Organisation.
![The Lucas Heights reactor operated by ANSTO.](/web/20161113135345im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/a/5/w/2/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsm2q1.png/1478840144865.jpg)
ANSTO will increase production of the medical isotopes from 550,000 doses a year to 10 million, which will meet a quarter of the world's demand.
Adi Paterson, chief executive of ANSTO, said this was a great example of ANSTO's focus on applied science.
![Technetium-99 is used in 80 per cent of nuclear medicine procedures, such as scanning.](/web/20161113135345im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/m/5/r/v/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsm2q1.png/1478840144865.jpg)
"What we are doing here will deliver a good public health outcome for Australians and people from around the globe, and a strong economic upside for Australia," Dr Paterson said.
Half of all Australians can expect to receive treatment during their lives that relies on nuclear medicine produced at Lucas Heights.
At its peak, the Chalk River nuclear reactor 200 kilometres north-east of Toronto produced 40 per cent of the world's supply of technetium, a radio-isotope used to diagnose and treat cancers and heart, lung, muscular, and skeletal conditions.
It ceased production of molybdenum-99, which is used to make technetium, this month and will close in 2018 after more than 60 years of operation. This is creating global concerns that there will be shortfalls in the production of the radioactive tracer used in medical imaging.
![Lucas Heights will increase production of nuclear medicine to 10 million doses a year.](/web/20161113135345im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/m/5/n/n/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsm2q1.png/1478840144865.jpg)
"What we have is a period of vulnerability that could last into 2018," Kevin Crowley, senior director of the US Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board, told Nature.
The Minister for Science, Greg Hunt, said: "As custodian of one of the best reactors in the world, we have not only an opportunity, but an obligation to step up and help prevent a shortage of nuclear medicine supplies."
![New fuel rods are lowered into the reactor core in 2008.](/web/20161113135345im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/m/5/n/o/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gsm2q1.png/1478840144865.jpg)
An added complication in the distribution of technetium is the short half-life of the element, meaning the doses cannot be stockpiled.
Technetium as used in medical imaging has a half-life of about six hours. It is produced by bombarding uranium with neutrons to produce a radioactive isotope of molybdenum, which has a 66-hour half-life.
It is the molybdenum that is then transported to hospitals and medical facilities within this small time window.
The molybdenum-99 isotope further decays to become technetium-99, which is then used in diagnostic imaging and in directing accurate treatments for a range of illnesses.
Its short half-life means patients are exposed to relatively small doses of radiation during treatment.
Useable doses are available for up to two weeks after delivery.
The uptick in production at Lucas Heights is possible due to an investment of $170 million into two projects by ANSTO.
The first is an upgrade of the existing nuclear medicine facility at Lucas Heights, which will allow a doubling of the 550,000 doses a year, which are mostly used in Australian hospitals.
Next year the second ANSTO project at Lucas Heights will result in a new isotope production facility coming online. At full capacity 10 million doses will be produced a year.
Dr Paterson said: "ANSTO already has about 60 years of expertise in manufacturing nuclear medicine, and these projects will take Australia from a domestic focus to being a world-scale producer.
"While some technologies such as cyclotrons are being experimented with to produce nuclear medicine, none have reached the reliability, commercial scale and quality levels achievable from a nuclear reactor."
Dr Paterson said ANSTO was also investing in nuclear waste treatment that is expected to reduce waste volumes by up to 90 per cent.
An earlier version of this article has been corrected to accurately state the expected closing date of the Chalk River reactor in Canada.