Medical isotope shortage looms as 'unplanned' outage halts Mo-99, Lu-177 production
Medical isotope production was halted this week after a water leak was discovered in the reactor beam cooling system of the high flux reactor (HFR) in Petten, the Netherlands, according to an alert from the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). The "unplanned" outage is expected to impact the near-term supply of isotopes used during many medical imaging exams.
This shutdown impacts the world supply of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) and lutetium-177 (Lu-177), medical isotopes used nuclear imaging.
As of Jan. 24, the Nuclear Medicine Europe Emergency Response Team is still unaware of the initial source of the leak. Additional inspections will be carried out this week to determine what actions will be needed to resume production.
According to a statement released by Nuclear Medicine Europe, the HFR does not pose a risk to workers or the public but will remain on standby status as a safety precaution while the cause of the leak is further investigated.
“Targets were scheduled to be irradiated in the HFR reactor for both Mo-99 and Lu-177 production and the delayed restart will impact the supply of these radioisotopes in the coming week(s),” the statement reads. “Medical institutions should contact their radioisotope suppliers to determine the specific impact on their orders.”
As the timeline for the repair remains unclear, medical facilities should be prepared to deal with a near-term radioisotope shortage, according to the alert.
An update on the situation is expected on Jan. 31 or earlier if information becomes available sooner.
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In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.