In light of recent media reports, ANSTO1 wishes to clarify its position regarding nuclear medicine supply, both domestically and globally.
ANSTO has successfully supplied nuclear medicines via importation to patients for the past two years and is committed to maintaining the needs of patients as its top priority.
During the current world shortage of nuclear medicine, ANSTO has made arrangements to ensure successful supply continues. Although delays have periodically occurred during importation, often due to transport issues, ANSTO has worked closely with nuclear medicine physicians to minimise inconvenience to patients.
The OPAL reactor is fully operational and is being used for radiopharmaceutical production, scientific research, silicon irradiation and specialised material analysis.
In the last operating cycle, the reactor had 100 per cent availability. In particular, the reactor has successfully irradiated the uranium plates required to make molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), which decays into the most widely used radiopharmaceutical, technetium-99m.
A separate plant which uses complex chemistry to extract the Mo-99 from the irradiated uranium plates is operable and is now in the final stages of licensing. ANSTO is working with its regulator ARPANSA to complete this process as soon as possible, and we anticipate that this will occur within a matter of weeks.
Once routine operation of the Mo-99 production facility is approved, commercial production can commence. ANSTO will then be able to start supplying the domestic market as well as consider helping with the global shortages due to the shutdown of the Canadian reactor at Chalk River.
ANSTO will keep the media and general public informed of progress.
Published: 17/06/2009