Acute Myopia

Chances are that if you need a cardiac stress test, bone scan, SPECT scan or any number of nuclear diagnostic imaging tests, you're going to be waiting for a long, long time. While you're waiting, you can thank all the enviros who ranted about the dangers of nuclear power. You also can thank Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Presidents Clinton and Obama.

The problem is an acute shortage of technetium-99m -- or Tc-99m. This radioactive isotope is used in 85 percent of all nuclear medicine diagnostic imaging tests and is generated from molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), which is produced at only a handful of aging nuclear reactors worldwide -- none of which is located in the U.S. Because of the short half life of Tc-99m, it cannot be stockpiled.

We, along with much of the world, get most of our Mo-99 from Canada's Chalk River reactor that is scheduled to be decommissioned in two years. The current global shortage is due to a leak discovered last month at this reactor, forcing it to shut down for repairs that could take up to eight months. This shortage is just a sample of what awaits us in a few years.

Back in the '80s and early '90s, there was a concerted push to develop nuclear facilities in the U.S. for medical purposes. But when Clinton was elected president, one of the few campaign promises he kept was to eliminate plans for any new reactors. The concern at the time was how to safely handle the spent fuel rods and other waste generated at such facilities. That concern gave rise to national myopia when it comes to all things nuclear.

The myopia has increased under the current administration. Although modern reactors produce much less radioactive waste than their predecessors, we have yet to develop a permanent repository for that waste. Yes, we have spent more than $14 billion to develop the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository in Nevada, but we'll never see anything for that money. Reid and Obama have declared Yucca Mountain a dead issue and have cut the funding for the project.

Without a repository for the waste, there's little hope of getting any new reactors built, which means we will continue to be dependent on other nations for much of our nuclear medicine. And when there is limited supply, the price soars.

The myopia of the past has become more acute because of the current administration's focus on healthcare reform. The two conditions have created a new fix -- reduce the demand for the medical isotope by restricting coverage for nuclear diagnostic imaging tests. This would have the added benefit of lowering medical costs, the healthcare reformers reason. Afterall, if you don't diagnose a disease, you don't have to treat it. And if you don't treat it, you will have fewer people who need healthcare. Or Medicare. Or Social Security.

In other words, we have traded nuclear engineering for social engineering.