Plan for medical isotope production centre floated by Welsh government
Nuclear facility would supply the whole country and further afield
The Welsh government has proposed a national nuclear facility to supply medical radioisotopes to the whole of the UK.
Based in north Wales, this would entail a nuclear reactor as part of a public sector national laboratory, generating medical isotopes for the UK health service and beyond. It would cost an estimated £400 million.
Worldwide, just six nuclear reactors along with smaller cyclotron facilities largely supply all the radioisotopes required for disease diagnosis and treatment. A Welsh government announcement warned that by 2030 the UK could have a shortage of medical radioisotopes and face the prospect of rationing.