Isotopes

Isotopes

Nuclear medicine advances human health and saves lives. Canada is a global leader in medical isotope production, used to sterilize medical devices and diagnose and treat diseases, such as cancer.

  • Ontario’s nuclear power plants produce 70% of the world’s supply of cobalt-60, a medical isotope that’s used to sterilize medical equipment, keep food safe, fight the spread of disease and treat cancer.
  • More than 40% of all single-use medical devices produced globally are sterilized using cobalt-60.
  • The nuclear medicine industry supports 8,500 jobs in Canada.
  • The demand for a reliable supply of isotopes continues to grow to support health care systems and research around the world.
a Photograph of a Bruce Power employee holding the device that would hold the cobalt-60 isotopes while in the reactor.
A graphic of the Cobalt-60 element as it would show on the periodic table.

Cobalt-60 is an essential isotope used in the treatment of cancer

therapeutic doses administered each year in Canada
1
of the world's supply produced by Canada
1 %
nuclear medicine procedures every year
1 M