Cobalt 60 machine parts Offline#

We have two projects – one in Canada and one in Romania – where existing CANDU units are being equipped to produce Cobalt-60. Most of the world’s Cobalt-60 is produced in a particular design of nuclear reactor called a CANDU. What other projects are increasing Cobalt-60 supply? Not only is the new supply welcome, but the reactor will now operate for another 25-30 years, adding to the reliability of the Cobalt -60 supply chain.įor the long-term, Nordion is committed to investing significant money and resources to develop expanded Cobalt-60 production.

Cobalt 60 machine parts Offline#

The latest addition to the mix is the re-introduction of production in Argentina from a reactor that had been offline for refurbishment. Having said that, the amount of Cobalt-60 being made available to the market continues to grow, as it generally has in the past, through initiatives at both Nordion and other producers. In addition, higher than historical growth in medical device manufacturing volume has meant that demand for Cobalt is out-pacing supply. What about capacity for gamma processing? Is there a Cobalt-60 shortage?Ĭobalt-60 supply has been under pressure in recent years, mostly due to some unexpected perturbations in the global supply chain. Gamma has a proven track record and accounts for a majority of radiation sterilization today, and there isn’t a compelling reason established to make the switch. Gamma has a proven track record and accounts for a majority of radiation sterilization today.Įveryone in the industry supports the idea of using the appropriate sterilization modality for the job. As more commercial x-ray facilities are constructed and operated, we should get better clarity of the true practical differences. The challenge with x-ray as a sterilization modality is that there is limited real-world experience at commercial scale, so any advantages and disadvantages are not fully proven at this point. However, this theoretical equivalence doesn’t always play out in practical terms. There is a saying in the industry that “a photon is a photon”, which means that, from a physics standpoint, the product can’t tell the difference between the energy delivered by Cobalt-60 and x-rays from an accelerator. There has been talk about using x-ray as an alternative to gamma how do the technologies compare? In fact, a few providers have developed centers of excellence specifically for pharmaceutical products. These are all reasons that gamma is responsible for sterilizing more than 30 percent of the world’s single-use medical devices.įor many pharmaceutical applications, providers of gamma sterilization have developed significant expertise around delivering effective sterilization dose, while maintaining the product’s function. Gamma radiation has been used safely and effectively for more than 50 years, so the process is widely understood in the industry and there is a large global network of sterilization providers with the necessary experience and expertise. Unlike other sterilization modalities, there is only one key process variable, which is the time the product is exposed to the Cobalt source. Gamma’s simplicity is one of its strongest selling features.

What is it about Cobalt-60 and gamma that makes it so attractive for pharmaceutical applications? Today, our customers include both contract sterilizers and medical device manufacturers. We have been building irradiation facilities and shipping Cobalt sources around the world for more than 50 years and continue to be a leader in the space. Nordion is one of the pioneers in using Cobalt-60 for gamma irradiation.

Sterilization of drug components such as active pharmaceutical ingredients using gamma irradiation has also been on the rise. Gamma irradiation, using Cobalt-60, is used for a variety of applications in the pharmaceutical industry, including the sterilization of drug packaging and single-use bioprocessing equipment, such as bioreactors – where there has been significant growth in recent years. Cobalt-60 is widely used in the medical device space for terminal sterilization, but how is it used in the pharma industry, and what is Nordion’s role?