Cancer diagnoses delayed as Dutch reactor to stay shut till FebCancer patients across Europe face further delays for diagnoses after the owner of a Dutch nuclear reactor said Tuesday it would not re-open until February, almost three months behind schedule. The Petten reactor in northern Holland, which produces a third of the world's medical isotopes, was shut down for safety reasons at the end of August. Last month its owner, the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG) is a Dutch institute that performs nuclear research for the government and private companies. It is the most important producer of radionuclides in Europe and maintains and operates the Petten nuclear reactor. (NRG NRG Energy NRG NRG Energy, Inc. NRG Natural Resources Group NRG New Radiancy Group NRG Network Referral Group NRG Network Resource Grapher NRG Numerics Rapporteur Group NRG Neuroprosthetics Research Group NRG notional requirements generator ), said it hoped the reactor would be back in operation by late November. But on Tuesday NRG spokesman Leontien Zuurbier said the repair work was "more complex" than originally thought and gave a new re-opening date of February 16. Activity at the reactor in Petten was suspended following the discovery of air bubbles in the cooling system cooling system: see air conditioning; internal-combustion engine; refrigeration. cooling system Apparatus used to keep the temperature of a structure or device from exceeding limits imposed by needs of safety and efficiency. in August. The closure has led to a shortage of technetium technetium (tĕknē`shēəm) [Gr. technetos=artificial], artificially produced radioactive chemical element; symbol Tc; at. no. 43; mass no. of most stable isotope 98; m.p. 2,200°C;; b.p. 4,877°C;; sp. gr. 11. , an isotope made of small quantities of radioactive substance that is used for medical imaging and the treatment of diseases. Technetium is used in 80 percent of diagnoses using radioactive technology. Around seven million check-ups using technetium are made in Europe each year and eight million in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. NRG. The four other nuclear reactors that produce isotopes for the pharmaceutical industry -- in Canada, France, Belgium and South Africa -- have filled the gap left by the suspension of Petten reactor, Zuurbier said. 
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