Best Theratronics, a maker of medical isotopes in Kanata, Ontario, surprised everyone with a courageous decision. They will voluntarily surrender their nuclear license as a result of hard regulatory scrutiny by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). The company has presumably been preoccupied with the ongoing offloading of its nuclear material. This type of material was previously used to manufacture devices to treat cancer.
The CNSC has responded by ordering Best Theratronics to reserve $1.8 million. This funding is plainly meant to cover possible future cleanup expenses related to breaches of its nuclear licence obligations. More than a year ago, the CNSC put the company under compliance orders. This step follows on the company’s inability to keep its financial guarantee, which had already lapsed. The stakes intensified earlier this month when Best Theratronics missed a December deadline. To make matters worse, they submitted the inaugural report a number of days late.
Manny Subramanian, an attorney for Best Theratronics, detailed the reasons for the late filing.
“One particular report, you know, we ended up sending about a day late or two days late because Krish, the president of the company, was travelling. We couldn’t get ahold of him.” – Manny Subramanian
Krishnan Suthanthiran, the sole owner of Best Theratronics, bought it from MDS Nordion in 2007. Under his stewardship, he has faced a fiscal cliff of unimaginable depths. Yet he confessed before the CNSC that he planned to underfund the restoration of the financial guarantee. Moreover, he admitted that the company had been repeatedly breaking regulatory orders for years on end.
Even Suthanthiran is now fully pivoting Best Theratronics’ focus away from nuclear materials altogether.
“We are planning to relocate to the USA and India,” – Krishnan Suthanthiran.
This move comes on the heels of a prolonged and contentious union strike at the firm. In response, workers launched a nearly ten-month long strike, staying strong through the winter to win better wages. The double whammy of regulatory problems and internal turmoil has resulted in a deep financial drain for Suthanthiran.
As Best Theratronics™ gets ready to steer through this historic transition, it is dedicated to reprioritizing its business away from the nuclear space. The decision to surrender its nuclear licence marks a pivotal moment for the company as it seeks to comply with regulatory requirements and stabilize its operations.
