Imminent Mo-99/Tc-99m Shortage Due to European Reactor Restart Delay

UPDATE: October 30, 2024

SNMMI has received an update from Nuclear Medicine Europe on the current restart delay of the high-flux reactor (HFR) in Petten, Netherlands.

NRG confirmed that it is preparing to restart HFR on Monday November 4th, which constitutes an early start of HFR cycle 2024-08. The end date of this cycle remains December 15th as originally planned. The restart is subject to regulatory approval, and NRG expects to receive the nuclear authority’s final response later this week.

NRG will provide an update to NMEU on Friday November 1st.

NMEU was also notified today that the MARIA research reactor in Poland plans to restart on Thursday October 31 and continue the cycle until November 6.

NMEU is aware that various regions of the world have been experiencing shortages ranging from 50% to 100% of normal requirements. Assuming the return of both MARIA and HFR in the next six days, we anticipate that normal supply of Mo-99 will be achieved by the beginning of the week of November 11, bringing shortages to an end.

For more details about the Mo-99 and Tc-99 supply issues, click here.

SNMMI advises stakeholders to contact their generator suppliers to assess how this delay may affect their operations. SNMMI will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.

October 19, 2024

SNMMI has been informed by Nuclear Medicine Europe of a delay in the restart of the high-flux reactor (HFR) in Petten, Netherlands, until at least November 15. This delay is necessary to address urgent repair of a previously identified pipe deformation, which was originally scheduled to be fixed later in 2024. Unfortunately, this coincides with scheduled maintenance at other reactors: the Maria reactor (Poland) is offline until November 7, and BR-2 (Belgium) is expected to remain down until early or mid-December.

These overlapping shutdowns have caused a significant Mo-99 shortage, with expected supply reductions of up to 50% over the next three weeks. The shortages will vary by region, with the most acute disruptions anticipated in the first week of November. At this time, no firm date has been set for the resumption of normal operations, but an update is expected shortly.

SNMMI advises stakeholders to contact their generator suppliers to assess how this delay may affect their operations. SNMMI will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available. For more details about the Mo-99 and Tc-99 supply issues, click here.