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The National Research Experimental Reactor (NRU) shuts down unexpectedly, putting the spotlight on AECL’s role in the production and supply of medical isotopes

On May 15, 2009, a heavy-water leak was detected within the NRU facility. At the time, the reactor was quietly producing 30 per cent of the world’s supply of a key medical isotope used in the treatment and diagnostic of cancer and other diseases, Molybdenum-99m. The shutdown left researchers and medical professionals searching for supply from the world’s four other producing reactors, before the NRU was put back in service in March 2010.