Three recent announcements in the media will help secure future supplies of vital medical radioisotopes. The first good news is that Westinghouse Electric Company and Nordion (Canada) Inc have signed a Letter of Intent under which they will develop innovative Cobalt-60 (Co-60) isotope production technology to produce the isotope in pressurised water reactors (PWRs). Cobalt-60 (Co-60) is widely used to sterilise medical instruments as well as in cancer treatments. So far, cobalt-60 is mostly produced in Candu reactors in Canada, Argentina, China and South Korea.
