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SEOUL, South Korea A Canadian company's deal with Russia to sellmedical isotopes produced with weapons-grade uranium was criticizedby the U.S. secretary of energy and other senior officials at amajor nuclear security summit on Monday. But the federal government is defending the agreement, sayingCanada has a responsibility for ensuring an adequate global supplyof a radioactive substance that is critical for 100,000 medicalprocedures every day, including cancer detection and treatment. Ottawa-based Nordion is one of the world's largest producers andsellers of medical isotopes. Weapons-grade uranium from the UnitedStates is processed at the federal government's Chalk River, Ont.,reactor, with Nordion selling the isotopes around the world. Prompted by the threat of terrorists or criminal organizationsgetting their hands on the weapons-grade uranium, Canada and othercountries pledged in 2010 to begin producing the radioactivesubstance with non-weapons-grade uranium instead. The federal government will fulfil its 2010 promise by closing theChalk River reactor in 2016. But in September 2010, Nordion signed a 10-year agreement withRussia that gives the company the exclusive right to distribute andsell medical isotopes produced with weapons-grade uranium from thatcountry. Fifty world leaders are in South Korea this week discussing howmonitor and control worldwide stockpiles of nuclear materials andtechnology. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, who is attending with PrimeMinister Stephen Harper, said the government is committed toeliminating the use of weapons-grade uranium from medical isotopeproduction, but also defended the Nordion deal. "Canada is one of the few countries that has a specialresponsibility to humanity to provide medical isotopes," hetold reporters. "We have an important responsibility. Not just, frankly, toCanadian hospitals, doctors and the medical community, but to othercountries in the world. We're a major supplier. Obviously we'd liketo get there, and we'll do that in an expeditious but orderlyway." Nordion says the agreement provides a backup supply of isotopes forthe company's customers, and that it is examining other methods toproduce isotopes. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and senior officials from Belgium,France and the Netherlands on Monday announced they would beworking together to convert their isotope production facilities touse non-weapons-grade uranium by 2015. "By 2015, we feel that's sufficient time to do theconversion," Chu told a news conference. "We are veryconfident that this will happen." When asked about the Nordion agreement with Russia, the foreignofficials voiced concerns, particularly given that the Canadiancompany will have an advantage over competitors moving toward usingnon-weapons-grade uranium. "In the end, there's going to be a cost to any country if thismaterial ever does fall into the wrong hands," Chu said."There's going to be a worldwide cost." Bernard Bigot, head of the French Atomic Energy Commission, said itis important for everyone to play by the same rules, includingcommercially. "We need to co-operate, all together, in order to have asustainable process in order to provide these medical isotopes,which are needed for this process." Added Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal: "If these sorts ofmaterials indeed fall into the wrong hands, the reputation of anindustry is at issue. "You can be penny-wise short term, pound-foolish longterm." Twitter.com/leeberthiaume. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Coffee Packaging Bags , China Plastic Drawstring Bags, and more. For more , please visit Poly Packaging Bags today!
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