R 131438Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 5555
DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
USDOE WASHDC
USDOE GERMANTOWN MD
NRC WASHDC
AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 
AMEMBASSY BEIJING 
AMEMBASSY BERLIN 
AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 
AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 
AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 
AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 
AMEMBASSY LONDON 
AMEMBASSY MADRID 
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 
AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 
AMEMBASSY PARIS 
AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 
AMEMBASSY TOKYO 
AMEMBASSY SEOUL 
AMEMBASSY WARSAW 
USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 
USMISSION GENEVA 
USEU BRUSSELS 2505

UNCLAS PARIS 000235 
 
 
FROM USOECD 
 
DOE FOR NNSA/ PSTAPLES AND CFITZGERALD 
DOE FOR NE/PANTALEO 
DOE FOR SC/GILLO 
STATE FOR EEB/EPPD, ISN/NMA, ISN/NE, EUR/ERA 
UNVIE:NNELSON-JEAN 
HHS: ECLARKE 
NRC: CMILLER 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG KNNP TRGY KSCA OECD UNVIE
 
SUBJECT:  OECD REPORTING: REPORT OF THE NUCLEAR ENERGY AGENCY 
MEETING ON SECURITY OF SUPPLY OF MEDICAL ISOTOPES, JANUARY 29-30, 
2009 
 
¶1. (U) This is an information cable. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶2. (U) The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Workshop on the Security of 
Supply of Medical Isotopes convened in Paris on January 29-30, 2009 
and was well attended by representatives of government, industry, 
the health industry, intergovernmental and non-governmental 
organizations, and trade associations. There were over eighty 
participants from thirteen OECD countries and three non-OECD 
countries.  The participants discussed the vulnerability of the 
global medical isotope industry, which depends on a limited number 
of aging nuclear research reactors for isotope production and a 
complex processing and distribution chain for delivery. Several 
regional and global supply disruptions in the recent past were 
analyzed.  One of the major conclusions was that due to the 
condition of the reactors and lack of investment for improvement, 
the vulnerability of the supply chain is likely to persist, if not 
to increase, for several years. Alternatives to alleviate problems 
in the short term and possibilities to increase isotope supply in 
the long term were discussed. U.S. National Academies' 
representative presented the highlights of the recent study on 
isotope production without using highly enriched uranium (HEU).  The 
U.S. government representative outlined the Department of Energy's 
requirements under the Energy Policy Act 2005.  The law requires a 
report to the U.S. Congress disclosing the existence (extent) of any 
commitments by commercial isotope producers worldwide to provide 
Mo-99 by 2013 to the U.S. Market using low enriched uranium (LEU) 
target irradiation.  It was announced that Mo-99 producers and those 
with plans to produce Mo-99 for the U.S. market would receive 
letters in March 2009 requesting information on their intent to 
supply Mo-99 to the U.S. market using LEU targets by the end of this 
four-year time frame.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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DETAILS OF THE DISCUSSIONS 
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¶3. (U) The primary themes of the NEA workshop were, for the short 
term, the "crisis of Mo-99 supply" due to unscheduled outages and 
the need to stabilize the aging reactor fleet to provide reliable 
services to the nuclear medicine industry, and for the long-term, 
the need for new sources of supply and new technologies to deliver 
Mo-99. 
 
¶4. (U) Highlights included reactor operators discussing a 
price-depressed market and the difficulty with operation of 40-plus 
year-old reactors, and concern for missed schedules and the impact 
on the patient. Other representatives of the supply chain also 
stressed the need for improved organization for delivery of product 
and communication with medical community and customers.  Both 
reactor operators and suppliers spoke out on the need for more 
revenue to address capital investments for aging reactors, but 
repeatedly spoke of the market's inability to accept any price 
increases to cover the costs.  Some arguments were contradictory and 
were questioned during question and answer periods. Participants 
noted that due to the age and increasing maintenance requirements of 
the major production reactors, vulnerability of the isotope supply 
chain is likely to persist, if not increase, for several years. To 
reinforce this point, producers briefed their proposed future outage 
schedules, which could well contribute to further disruptions in 
supply. 
 
¶5. (U) Dr. Kevin Crowley of the National Academies delivered a 
presentation on its recent study entitled "Medical Isotope 
Production without Highly Enriched Uranium".  He fielded a number of 
questions and comments.  Reactor operators spoke of their 
unwillingness to implement an 'unknown technology' (i.e. LEU 
targets) on a large scale for fear of more shutdowns and shortages. 
ANSTO's representative and director of the LEU-operated OPAL reactor 
offered that it was not an untested technology and that OPAL has 
been operating successfully for five years using LEU targets. 
Successful operation, however, required a great deal of planning. 
Industry representatives asserted that LEU-based production still 
needed to be demonstrated at a global scale and that economics and 
logistics needed to be assessed. Dr. Crowley responded that no 
single template for conversion would be available to a reactor 
operator and that R and D would be needed for each particular 
facility. The national academies report can be accessed at: 
www.nasonline.org. 
 
¶6. (U) There were a number of comments about the U.S. 
nonproliferation policy of HEU minimization. Though representatives 
agreed that nonproliferation is important, there was a pushback on 
conversion to LEU targets.  Dr. Parrish staples, U.S. Department of 
Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) 
representative, in an explanation of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 
requirement to conduct the national academies study, reminded 
attendees that all but three governments in attendance at the 
meeting had agreed to participate in the global initiative to combat 
nuclear terrorism, and therefore, HEU minimization was "their 
governments' policy" as well.  The meeting also offered an 
opportunity for Dr. Staples to announce the DOE/NNSA's plan to 
canvass reactor operators or potential new suppliers about their 
intent or extent of their commitments to supply Mo-99 to the U.S. 
market using LEU targets by 2013, and inform them about the fast 
track for a report to the U.S. congress on producers' intentions. 
Letters would be sent to reactor operators, other key Mo-99 
producers and potential producers by March 1, 2009 with a response 
requested on or about May 1, 2009. 
 
¶7. (U) Efforts to enhance reliability of short-term supply were 
discussed and proposed during the meeting.  These included, but were 
not limited to: continued information sharing and enhanced 
communication of reactor maintenance schedules, development of 
contingency plans for handling future supply disruptions, 
notification of outages and anticipated length of outages, 
development of a communication strategy for the transport community 
to avoid disruption of shipments, and interface with the medical 
community to explore options for efficient patient scheduling and 
utility of TC-99 generators.  Requests for assistance were sought 
from the Association of Imaging Producers and Equipment Suppliers 
(AIPES), the International Community of Societies of Nuclear 
Medicine, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for 
coordination of capabilities that will streamline delivery of 
product to the medical community. 
 
¶8. (U) As for future additional capacity, there was recognition that 
sufficient new capacity could take as long as 5-10 years to come 
online.  Presentations from the Republic of Korea and Japan revealed 
that those countries would begin significant research and 
development programs to prepare for domestic production of 
Mo-99/Tc-99. Other countries voiced concern about ensuring a 
reliable domestic supply of this critical medical resource. Although 
there were references in the National Academies study and during the 
workshop to commercial interest in the United States to build a 
domestic capability, no specific discussion of this subject occurred 
during the meeting.  Representatives from B and W and the University 
of Missouri attended the meeting but did not discuss any detailed 
plans for a domestic supply of LEU-based Mo-99. 
 
¶9. (U) Participants suggested that the NEA organize a workshop in 
coordination with the IAEA to carry forward the agenda of the 
workshop and to review additional practical measures that could be 
taken. 
 
¶10. (U) A side meeting was held with the Canadian delegation in view 
of Canada's role as primary supplier of Mo-99 to the U.S.  Associate 
Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Canada, Serge DuPont, led the 
meeting for Canada.  It was an informative and candid discussion on 
a range of topics including: HEU minimization, target conversion to 
LEU, and HEU waste management. 
 
¶11. (U) If posts would like additional information about the meeting 
or background on the subject of Mo-99 production and conversion to 
LEU targets, the DOE/NNSA point of contact is Parrish Staples at 
email parrish.staples@nnsa.doe.gov or phone (202) 586-4042. 
 
STONE