Bruce Power is poised to place medical-grade Cobalt into its Unit 8 reactor. That would mean all four Bruce B units will now produce High Specific Activity Cobalt, which is used to treat brain tumours worldwide.
This milestone coincides with special recognition at the opening of the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday for the company’s role in the fight against childhood cancer.
Mike Rencheck, Bruce Power’s president and CEO, and James Scongack, vice president of corporate affairs & environment, were on hand for the ceremonial activation of the market opening siren at the invitation of the Advocacy for Canadian Childhood Oncology Research Network.
Unit 8 will enter a planned maintenance inspection program this weekend when HSA Cobalt rods will be installed.
HSA Cobalt is used worldwide for alternative treatments to traditional brain surgery and radiation therapy for the treatment of complex brain conditions through a specialized, non-invasive knife.
"Bruce Power is to be commended for the role it plays in providing isotopes used to treat childhood and adolescent cancer, and for the leadership shown in helping form the Canadian Nuclear Isotope Council, which is exploring further medical isotope development," said Neal Rourke, a member of Ac2orn. "More than 10,000 Canadian children 19 years of age and under have been diagnosed with cancer this decade, and childhood brain tumours have recently passed leukemia as the most deadly form of childhood cancer in North America."