In November, 2011, the US Senate passed S. 99, the American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2011, after public health, medical and nuclear experts successfully lobbied Congress to end its dependence on foreign manufacture of Molybdenum 99 (Mo-99) the critical precursor for most medical isotopes used nuclear diagnostic procedures. S99 allows for domestic production using low-enriched uranium (LEU) rather than highly enriched, bomb-grade uranium (HEU) used by foreign producers in Canada and the Netherlands.
Today that same group led by Dr. Alan J. Kuperman, Director, Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Program, Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law, University of Texas at Austin, sent a letter to Representatives Fortenberry, Upton, and Markey asking for an amendment to that bill that would block the use of imported Russian medical isotopes produced with bomb-grade uranium completely within about five years.
According to the letter, the amendment would close a loophole that could compromise the bill's stated goals: "(1) minimizing global commerce in bomb-grade, highly enriched uranium (HEU) to reduce risks of nuclear terrorism and nuclear proliferation; and (2) ensuring a reliable supply of medical radio-isotopes derived from Molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) – which account for 80 percent of our country’s 20-million nuclear diagnostic procedures annually – by fostering domestic production without HEU."
In the past the US has gotten much of its isotope supply from Canada, but the plant there is very old and is shut down constantly for repair, making the prospect of US production more attractive to legislators. However, recently Russia signed a contract with Canada in an effort to replace production there. Kuperman's letter warns that if the US were to switch its domestic dependence from Canada to Russia, this country could be vulnerable "to air-traffic interruptions, such as from recent volcanic eruptions,” while also “escalating risks of nuclear terrorism.”
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