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February 4 was World Cancer Day and one of its main themes is imagining a world in which millions of cancer deaths are prevented and access to life-saving cancer treatment is equitable for all.

Bruce Power supports the goals of the global initiative, led by the Union for International Cancer Control, and is proud of the role it plays in not only producing carbon-free electricity to power one third of the homes, businesses and hospitals in Ontario, but also in contributing to the world’s health-care system through its production of medical isotopes.

The company has released Bruce Power isotopes: An essential element of heath care, a report outlining the role it plays in the global fight against cancer and detailing Ontario and Canada’s historic leadership in the production of medical isotopes and amazing opportunities going forward.

“We’re extremely proud of Bruce Power’s positive impacts on millions of people worldwide. Aside from providing clean, carbon-free electricity for Ontario families and businesses, we also supply medical isotopes internationally,” Bruce Power’s President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Rencheck says in the report. “Together, we are powering innovation which allows us to help power our province and keep Canada at the forefront in the supply of life-saving medical isotopes.”

The report highlights Bruce Power’s ability to harness the unique capabilities of its CANDU reactors to produce several cancer-fighting medical isotopes for the world medical community. For more than 35 years, it has been reliable source of cobalt-60, an isotope used to sterilize more than 40 per cent of the world’s single-use medical equipment through gamma irradiation.

It also details the innovative Isotope Production System (IPS) installed at Bruce Power, which allows the company to produce short-lived medical isotopes that help in the battle against various forms of cancer. The IPS was designed and manufactured by Isogen (a partnership between Kinectrics and Framatome), and is a first-of-its-kind solution to produce short-lived medical isotopes in a commercial power reactor. Bruce Power began the commercial production of lutetium-177 – an isotope used mainly in the treatment of prostate cancer – in 2022 and is exploring other opportunities to produce further isotopes based on the needs of the world medical community.

Bruce Power has partnered with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) in an historic collaboration to market medical isotopes. The partnership, named “Gamzook’aamin aakoziwin,” which translates to “We are teaming up on the sickness,” includes an equity stake for SON and a revenue-sharing program that provides a direct benefit to the community, for the marketing of current and new isotopes produced through the IPS.

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source: media release, Bruce Power