Trade-offs. MPs pass bill to restart urgent isotope production. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is saying there are a number of safety issues that need to be addressed before the reactor can be reopened. The government has decided that the isotopes produced by the reactor, essential to several kinds of medical tests, are more important than the safety risks to the environment and to the people working and living in proximity to the reactor.

It is easy for me to criticize this decision from my armchair, but if I or one of my loved ones was waiting for a cancer test, I'm not sure how I would come down on the issue. Having said that, one has to ask why the supply of isotopes is so fragile.