Due to a technical shutdown of nuclear reactors selling molybdenum-99 to Colombia and since the country does not have a reactor with the capacity to generate this input, they warn that the shortage of this radioactive element to find cancer is imminent.
The alarm was sounded by the professor and researcher of the nuclear affairs group of the National Geological Service and professor at the Javeriana University, Camilo Prieto Valderrama, who assures that “unfortunately our country has not followed the example of Argentina, Brazil, Mexico , Peru and Bolivia who have promoted the development of nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes. Colombia has the human talent to prevent the recurrence of these crises due to the shortage of radiopharmaceuticals”.
According to Prieto, the supply problem arises “following a technical shutdown of the nuclear reactors that sell molybdenum-99 to Colombia and because unfortunately the country does not have a reactor with the capacity to generate this input. This deficiency prevents the proper functioning of nuclear medicine centers and radiopharmacies in the country.
This deficiency prevents the proper functioning of nuclear medicine centers and radiopharmacies in the country.
Camilo Prieto Valderrama
He recalled that a similar situation occurred in Colombia after the attack on the Twin Towers and also during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the coming weeks, patients with indications for scintigraphies, myocardial perfusions and radiological examinations with contrast agents will have difficulty accessing these services.
For Prieto, “Colombia needs a nuclear law to be able to stimulate the development of modular reactors that allow for the promotion of the production of radiopharmaceuticals and the future generation of electricity in non-interconnected areas”.
In Colombia, nuclear energy is nothing new. Since 1965, Colombia has had a research nuclear reactor that uses uranium as fuel, as well as gamma irradiation facilities, which are important for the export of food and cosmetics. Unfortunately, the production of isotopes for therapeutic purposes was forgotten in our country in the 1990s.
