News that a number of nuclear reactors across Europe and the US have been closed for maintenance and safety issues would not normally hit the headlines but if you are waiting for a heart scan or similar procedure you may well feel the pain. It has been announced that of the six nuclear reactors around the world which produce molybdenum-99, four are currently out of action for the immediate future.
It is not common knowledge but molybdenum-99 is the main ingredient used to form technetium-99m which is injected into a patient, allowing doctors to review heart disease and bone cancer issues. As crazy as it may sound, the supply of molybdenum-99 has now fallen to below half of the level required around the world and hospitals are being advised to delay non-vital scans as the shortage will not be addressed until October at the earliest.
While many people campaign against nuclear power and nuclear reactors there are many off-shoots to their main operations. The threat to hospital scanning services is real and while the situation is not critical as yet there is a need to be conscious of the limited supply of molybdenum-99 at the moment. |
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