Following up on a story we presented earlier about a shortage of medical isotopes for diagnostic procedures, last Thursday the House of Representatives passed by the American Medical Isotopes Production Act (HR 3276). The vote was 400-17 in favor.

The bill gives the Department of Energy the legal authority and funding to assist private sector projects in establishing a steady domestic supply of molybdenum-99, which is produced without using highly-enriched uranium.

At present, there are no domestic producers of the isotope. As reported earlier, US providers are facing a shortage because two of the five plants worldwide that produce the isotope are having technical problems.

This bill directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to evaluate and support projects for the production in the United States, without the use of highly enriched uranium, of significant quantities of molybdenum-99 for medical uses.

It also requires the Secretary to establish a program to make low enriched uranium available, through lease contracts, for irradiation for the production of molybdenum-99 for medical uses and also directs the Secretary to arrange with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to study and report to Congress on the state of molybdenum-99 production and utilization.