Harvested Cobalt-60 in Bruce Power’s secondar fuel bay, awaiting transportation to Nordion’s facility in Ottawa.

Successful collaboration between leading players in Canada’s nuclear industry assures a stable and reliable supply of Cobalt-60 for use in healthcare and other applications that benefit millions of people around the world.

In a November 23 media release, for the past six decades, High Specific Activity (HSA) Cobalt-60, used in the treatment of cancer, has been produced in Canada at the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor at Chalk River, Ontario. The NRU reactor will reach its end-of-life by March 31, 2018. Under agreements between Nordion, Bruce Power and Cameco, the production of HSA Cobalt-60 has been successfully migrated to CANDU nuclear power reactors.

Cameco Fuel Manufacturing Inc. in Cobourg plays a major part in the production process by providing specialized carriers and loading them with Cobalt-59 for insertion into the CANDU power reactors at Bruce Power’s generating station. After 24 to 30 months inside the reactor, the adjuster sets are removed and safely transported to a Nordion facility where the Cobalt-60 is removed and manufactured into finished product for delivery to customers around the world.

“We are proud to be part of this venture that makes Canada the world’s leading supplier of Cobalt-60 for medical applications and other gamma technologies,” said Dale Clark, Cameco’s Vice-President, Fuel Services.

“This partnership between Cameco, Nordion and Bruce Power to produce medical isotopes makes perfect sense, and builds on Canada’s contributions to nuclear medicine,” said Kim Rudd, Parliamentary Secretary to Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources. “It will ensure a stable and reliable supply of Cobalt-60 for use in healthcare and other applications that benefit people around the world.”

The Province of Ontario provides 50 percent of the world’s supply of Cobalt-60, all of it through Nordion. These isotopes are used for specialized cancer treatment and to sterilize 40 percent of the world’s single-use medical devices, including sutures, syringes, surgical gowns and masks. They’re also used to sterilize pharmaceutical wares and cosmetics, and irradiate spices and other consumer products that include fruit, seafood, poultry and red meat.

Nordion and Bruce Power have entered into an agreement to secure the long-term supply of Cobalt-60 for medical and other applications through the life of the four Bruce B reactors, which will operate up to 2064 once life-extension maintenance programs are completed over the next two decades.

“Bruce Power is proud to be part of an all-Canadian partnership that uses nuclear power to provide medical device sterilization, which creates safe hospitals for patients in Ontario and around the world, while also being part of the supply chain for life-saving radiation therapy for brain cancer treatment,” said James Scongack, Bruce Power’s Vice-President of Corporate Affairs & Environment.