Ottawa- The shortage of medical isotopes last year during the shutdown of the Canadian Ltd. Chalk River Ontario nuclear reactor has been laid to a number of different causes according to Canadian Federal Health Minister Tony Clement.

Lack Of Communication Cited As Main Cause

Ottawa- The shortage of medical isotopes last year during the shutdown of the Canadian Ltd. Chalk River Ontario nuclear reactor has been laid to a number of different causes according to Canadian Federal Health Minister Tony Clement.

“There was simply some massive dysfunction that was occurring along the line,” said Minister Clement.

The independent report issued by a consultant has listed a lack of communications between the Canadian federal regulators and the government, and communications between AECL the proprietors of the reactor and the crown as two of the reasons for the crisis.

The overall crisis last year could not have reached the point it did without the different parties working independently instead of together, which led to a breakdown in basic communications and the eventual stoppage of operations in November 2007.

The Chalk River Ontario Nuclear Isotope plan supplies much of the worlds material for medical imagine and diagnostic scans and it stopped operations in November last year.

It was restarted swiftly by an act of Parliament on December 16th, who met and ordered that it resume operations.

It is disconcerting to discover also that this single reactor is the virtual sole source of material for the medical imaging community, and that there is not some sort of a backup plan.