The High Flux Reactor (HFR) at Petten in the Netherlands has resumed operations a day early after maintenance in an effort to increase the availability of medical radioisotopes.

NRG Pallas, which operates the HFR on behalf of which operates the HFR on behalf of its owner, the European Union’s Joint Research Centre, said there is a worldwide shortage of medical radioisotopes due to scheduled maintenance and temporary outages at other European reactors.

“When we heard about the shortages of medical radioisotopes, we made every effort to shorten our planned maintenance shutdown in a safe and responsible manner,” Jelmer Offerein, operational director of NRG Pallas said. “The production chain of medical isotopes is fragile, and we are very aware of that.”