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Canada's Bruce Power Sets a Record for the Production of Cobalt 60 for Medical Use.
The Bruce Power Plant in Ontario, Canada features 8 CANDU (Pressurized Heavy Water) Nuclear Reactors built over a 10 year period from 1977 to 1987. The reactors have been undergoing a series of stepwise planned refurbishments to extend their lives for another 40 years or so.
The following article focuses on the refurbishment now underway on the Bruce 3, but also mentions the record production of the important medical isotope 60Co:
Milestones for Canada's Bruce Power units
...Radioisotope record
Separately, Bruce Power announced it had completed its celebrated its largest-ever harvest of cobalt-60 during a planned outage at Bruce unit 5 during which upgrades will also be carried out to allow an increase in the production of cobalt -60 and High Specific Activity (HSA) cobalt-60. Cobalt-60 is used to sterilise around 40% of the world's single-use medical devices, including syringes, catheters, IV sets, surgical gloves and gauze used in a wide range of health care applications. HSA cobalt-60 is a medical-grade radioisotope used in the treatment of brain tumours and breast cancer through non-invasive procedures.
"The production of these potentially life-saving medical isotopes is a beacon of hope that is provided by our nuclear industry," Bruce Power Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice-President and Chair of the Canadian Nuclear Isotope Council James Scongack said.
Separately, Bruce Power announced it had completed its celebrated its largest-ever harvest of cobalt-60 during a planned outage at Bruce unit 5 during which upgrades will also be carried out to allow an increase in the production of cobalt -60 and High Specific Activity (HSA) cobalt-60. Cobalt-60 is used to sterilise around 40% of the world's single-use medical devices, including syringes, catheters, IV sets, surgical gloves and gauze used in a wide range of health care applications. HSA cobalt-60 is a medical-grade radioisotope used in the treatment of brain tumours and breast cancer through non-invasive procedures.
"The production of these potentially life-saving medical isotopes is a beacon of hope that is provided by our nuclear industry," Bruce Power Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice-President and Chair of the Canadian Nuclear Isotope Council James Scongack said.
Civilization persists outside our borders despite our loss of it here.