OTTAWA — Ottawa is looking for a new source of medical isotopes to reduce reliance on the troubled Chalk River nuclear reactor in Ontario.
The federal government has announced plans to put $35 million into four projects to develop new ways of producing isotopes used in diagnostic imaging.
Research in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Quebec and British Columbia will use cyclotrons and linear accelerators to make the radioactive substance.
Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis says the goal is to have more diversified supply that is less vulnerable to disruption.
There was a global shortage of medical isotopes when the Chalk River reactor was shut down in May 2009 because of a leak.
The facility — which produced almost half the world’s supply — resumed operations in August but is scheduled to close by 2016.