Sep 14 Update on the Global Supply Situation for MO-99

Dear CAMRT Members,

This email is intended to provide you with an update on the situations at the BR2 Reactor in Belgium, the South African NTP processing facility, and the I-131 medical isotope supply:

• The AIPES Emergency Response Team (ERT) had a teleconference on Monday September 10th 2018 to receive updates on some recent production issues at the BR2 Reactor in Belgium and from NTP Radioisotopes (South Africa) on the temporary interruption of its Mo-99 and I-131 production activities.
• The facilities issues reported last week at the BR2 reactor have been successfully resolved after a significant effort by reactor staff. The supply situation for Mo99 should soon start to return to normal.
• However supplies may still be limited so please notify us as soon as possible if your organization begins facing medical isotope supply pressures.
• The NTP representative reported they are awaiting permission to conduct inactive (cold) testing from the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) of South Africa. However an exact date to resume production of Mo-99 and I-131 is still unavailable.
• As the NTP has not resumed production, the recent shut down of the Maria reactor in Poland for routine maintenance is expected to lead to supply challenges for the medical isotope I-131 and the ERT has already received anecdotal reports of global shortages of this isotope.

Through the AIPES Emergency Response Team (ERT) producers and suppliers are working collaboratively to mitigate the situation, attention to efficient usage of medical isotopes is highly recommended at this time.  For your reference, a link to the Supply Management Application to Rank Uses of Technetium-99m (The “S.M.A.R.T.” Tool)  is noted here https://www.cadth.ca/SMART-Tool

The Government of Canada is monitoring the situation closely and is in communication with the  AIPES. CAMRT is kept informed to the situation through these email updates from the Government of Canada. We will keep you informed as we receive updated information. We would like to request that if your organization’s supply of medical isotopes is impacted that you let us know as soon as possible.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact Christopher Topham, Director of Advocacy and Communications at ctopham@camrt.ca.