Sterigenics International and Nordion welcome landmark agreement from Bruce Power and Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator to extend the life of six reactors, enabling continued long-term supply of Cobalt-60

Cobalt-60 is essential to the global healthcare community and this announcement showcases Ontario's continued leadership in gamma sterilization

TORONTO, Dec. 4, 2015 /CNW/ - Sterigenics International LLC and subsidiary Nordion welcome the joint announcement from Bruce Power and Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to refurbish six of Ontario's nuclear reactors.  This announcement helps to secure long-term supply of Cobalt-60, a critical sterilization solution that benefits healthcare patients at home and around the world.

"We are delighted by today's announcement and we congratulate both Bruce Power and the Government of Ontario on reaching a milestone agreement which helps us in securing a long-term, stable supply of Cobalt-60 right here in Ontario," said Scott McIntosh, President, Gamma Technologies & Corporate Services, at Nordion. "In today's world, in which the spread of disease is discussed daily, we are reminded how critical it is to have sterile medical products to mitigate risk to patients and the healthcare community."

"This is a tremendous development," said Michael Mulhern, CEO, Sterigenics International LLC. "The ultimate beneficiaries are the more than 200 million people around the world who require sterilized medical devices for medical procedures each year."

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates more than 640,000 major surgeries are performed each day around the world. Sterilized disposable medical products are used in virtually all of these procedures. Cobalt-60 is supplied to over 200 gamma irradiators in 55 countries that sterilize surgical gloves, gowns, masks, syringes, sutures, catheters, pharmaceuticals, implants and tissue, as well as several products used in the food and consumer products industries (Source: International Atomic Energy Agency).

"Ontario is a leader in the global nuclear industry and today's announcement further secures its position for the long term," added McIntosh. "It also responds to the increasing needs around the globe for our clients and patients."

With Ontario's Long Term Energy Plan (LTEP) fully implemented, when the life extension and refurbishment of the Bruce B reactors are completed, these units would operate to approximately 2065, enabling an even longer-term extension of the current Cobalt-60 supply contract between Bruce Power and Nordion. This announcement complements Nordion and Bruce Power's long-term relationship which in the recent past has generated two major agreements; in October 2014, the companies announced a multi-year agreement up to an additional 14-years to provide supply of Cobalt-60. More recently, in October 2015, they announced a Memorandum of Understanding for the supply of High Specific Activity ("HSA") Cobalt-60, also referred to as medical-grade Cobalt. . More information on these announcements may be found at www.nordion.com.

About Nordion (Canada) Inc.

Nordion provides market-leading products used for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. We are a leading provider of medical isotopes and gamma technologies that benefit the lives of millions of people around the world. Our products are used daily by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, medical-device manufacturers, hospitals, clinics and research laboratories. Nordion supplies products to approximately 500 customers across more than 40 countries around the globe, and is a standalone business within Sterigenics International LLC, the global leader in outsourced contract sterilization services, gamma technologies and medical isotopes. Find out more about Nordion at www.nordion.com and follow us at twitter.com/NordionInc.

About Bruce Power

Bruce Power operates the world's largest operating nuclear generating facility and is the source of roughly 30 per cent of Ontario's electricity. The company's site in Tiverton, Ontario is home to eight CANDU reactors, each one capable of generating enough low-cost, reliable, safe and clean electricity to meet the annual needs of a city the size of Hamilton. Formed in 2001, Bruce Power is an all-Canadian partnership among TransCanada, Borealis Infrastructure Management (a division of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System) as well as the Power Workers' Union and Society of Energy Professionals. A majority of Bruce Power's employees are also owners in the business.

SOURCE Nordion Inc.

Shelley Maclean, [phone] x 2414, [phone] (cell), [email protected]