Darlington Nuclear set to supply life-saving Cobalt-60 isotopes

Pickering has supplied Cobalt-60 since 1971 and was the first Ontario generating station to produce the isotope. With the station’s upcoming end of commercial operations, expanding Cobalt-60 production to Darlington will help Ontario continue to meet the growing global demand for this isotope.

Currently, close to 50 per cent of the world’s Cobalt-60 is supplied by Ontario’s nuclear reactors. And 40 per cent of the world’s single-use medical devices and equipment are irradiated and sterilized using Cobalt-60.

Expanding production to Darlington will result in high-quality jobs and ensure Canada remains a world-leading supplier of important radioisotopes, Hartwick said.

Cobalt-60 emits gamma radiation, which is useful in irradiating and sterilizing medical devices and certain foods, like spices, meats and fruits. This sterilization process kills harmful bacteria as well as pests and insects that may be present in food.

Currently, at Pickering, a team of skilled OPG employees extracts the isotope roughly every 24 months during unit outages at the station.

At the beginning of each cycle, rods of Cobalt-59 are placed into the reactor and then bombarded with neutrons over several months. This process turns the Cobalt-59 to Cobalt-60. The rods are then pulled from the unit and cooled in the waters of the spent fuel bay before being packaged in flasks, which are then shipped to Nordion to be processed and delivered to clients around the world.

“Cobalt-60 is one of the key lines of defence in global efforts to safeguard public health,” said Kevin Brooks, President of Nordion. “Expanding our long relationship with OPG will ensure that we meet growing global demand for this critical isotope.”