Nuclear’s Future Could Be in Wisconsin Feeding Moly Cows
- Nuclear medicine company makes molybdenum-99 to treat cancer
- Uranium from Russian bombs rebooting U.S. isotope production
The Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station (L, dome) and cooling tower (R) seen in the distance behind a farmhouse
Photographer: STAN HONDA/AFPThis article is for subscribers only.
With U.S. nuclear power falling on hard times, an American company says it’s found an atomic niche that will feed rising demand for medical isotopes used to diagnose cancer worldwide.
Shine Medical Technologies LLC is using novel nuclear technologies to reboot American production of the isotope molybdenum-99. It’s the key element that radio-pharmaceutical manufacturers need to make so-called Moly Cows, units that supply doctors with technitium-99 tracers for medical imaging.