China passes mass production milestone in carbon-14 isotope output
- Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant in Zhejiang expected to be able to make enough of the material to meet the country’s demand
- China has been reliant on imports, sourcing supplies from various countries including Canada and Russia
China has started mass production of a radioactive isotope widely used in science and medicine, putting the country on the path to ending its near-total reliance on imports.
State-run China Science Daily reported on Sunday that a commercial nuclear reactor in the eastern province of Zhejiang was mass producing carbon-14, an isotope with applications ranging from detecting bacterial infections to monitoring water quality.
China has been almost totally reliant on imports of the isotope, sourcing supplies from countries including Canada, South Africa, Australia and Russia.
Supplies from Canada were cut in 2009 when the world’s largest supplier of carbon-14, Canada’s National Research Universal reactor, ceased production after a leak was detected. The reactor resumed production a year later.
“China’s carbon-14 supply has been almost entirely dependent on imports, the price is high and the supply is not guaranteed,” the newspaper reported.
State-owned Science and Technology Daily reported in 2022 that in recent years China had imported more than 90 per cent of medical isotopes and was limited in the variety it could buy.