medical isotope shortage

OSU’s TRIGA Mark II nuclear reactor is capable of producing small amounts of medical radioisotopes. These radioisotopes are incredibly important in millions of diagnostic and therapeutic medical procedures annually. The world experienced a massive shortage of such radioisotopes in 2009-2010 when 2/5 of the world’s reactors supplying the isotopes became inactive for an extended period of time. This strongly affected the US because one of the inactive reactors previously supplied much of the US. Currently, the world requires better contingencies for these inevitable situations. While the US currently supplies none of the world’s radioisotopes (the US government, unlike in other countries, does not subsidize the production of medical isotopes), our small reactors (such as the one at OSU) may be helpful in abating future shortages. Read More