Every year, millions of lives around the world are saved through the use of nuclear medicine. Nuclear technology helps with early diagnosis and treatment, often preventing the need for surgery, and helping to lower medical costs. Canadian nuclear reactors currently produce about 85 per cent of the world's Cobalt-60 which has been used to treat cancer for more than 30 years.
Radiation is used to sterilize medical products such as sutures, surgical gloves and masks.
It is also used to sterilize everyday materials such as bandages. Irradiation, because it is a cold process, is used to sterilize heat sensitive materials such as plastics. Until the introduction of disposable syringes sterilized by radiation, for example, hepatitis was often accidentally passed on to patients. Nuclear technology also helps control insects and pests and improve health in domestic animals by early detection of diseases. The radioactive device in ionizing smoke detectors is less than half the size of a dime and emits less radiation than a color television set.