Ministry of VROM
Government supports construction of new nuclear reactor for medical isotopes
09-10-2009The Cabinet has endorsed a letter to the Lower House of the Dutch Parliament stating that the Dutch government is open to proposals for the construction of a new nuclear reactor to replace the current High Flux Reactor (HFR) in Petten.
The HFR produces medical isotopes, also called radiopharmaceuticals, for various applications including cancer treatment. Although the facility is still safe, it has been in operation for nearly 50 years. Due to the antiquated equipment, technical problems or production failure are becoming more and more likely. Such an event would reduce the availability of radiopharmaceuticals not just in the Netherlands and Europe, but worldwide. The HFR in Petten is one of five reactors in the world that have been in operation for between 40 and 50 years.
Radiopharmaceuticals
The government has stated that radiopharmaceuticals will be in demand around the world for many years to come and that the new reactors planned in other parts of the world are insufficient to meet this demand. The Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG), which operates the reactor in Petten, has plans to build a new modern reactor in the Netherlands that will be called 'Pallas'.
Amenable
In the letter, Minister Klink of Health, Welfare and Sport, Minister Cramer of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, Minister Van der Hoeven of Economic Affairs, Minister Donner of Social Affairs and Employment and Minister Plastkerk of Education, Culture and Science wrote that, in principle, the government is amenable to the construction of a new reactor in the Netherlands and therefore also to a possible future permit under the Nuclear Energy Act (Kernenergiewet). It is important to the government that progress is made in the decision-making regarding the HFR.
Conditions
The government has pointed out that any plans to construct a new reactor must satisfy certain conditions with respect to safety, the environment, planning and funding. The operator will be expected to bear the construction costs, including those associated with building on a different site if that is where the new reactor is built. In principle, the NRG must take the final decision regarding the site for the new HFR, based on the best business case and the preconditions specified by the government. Despite the plans for a new reactor, the repairs scheduled for the HFR in Petten must still go ahead as planned.
Expertise and jobs
The government believes that the new HFR will keep the Netherlands' nuclear technology expertise up to standard, in addition to fulfilling the needs of the health care sector. The new reactor will also be good for employment because it will create 500 high-level direct jobs, plus around 1,000 indirect jobs.
