Founded in 1946, originally the radium sales department of
Eldorado Mining and Refining Ltd., the division developed one of the first radiotherapy units that used the radioisotope cobalt-60 to destroy cancerous tumours. Soon after, the division was given responsibility for selling radioisotopes produced by the newly established
Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories, a nuclear research facility at Chalk River, Ontario. As a result, in 1951, Eldorado established a commercial products division (CPD) to manage the isotope business, especially cobalt-60 used in cancer treatment. In 1952, the federal government created
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), a Crown corporation. Shortly thereafter, CPD was transferred to AECL, where it remained for the next 40 years and was renamed the radio-chemical division. In 1988, ownership of the radio-chemical division was transferred from AECL to the Canadian Development Investment Corporation (CDIC). The company assumed a new name, Nordion International Inc. and was later sold to MDS Health Group in 1991. In 2010, MDS Inc. completed a strategic repositioning which saw the Company divest its MDS Analytical Technologies and MDS Pharma Services businesses. Also in 2010, shareholders of MDS Inc. approved a change of name from MDS Inc. to Nordion Inc. The Company officially changed its name to Nordion Inc. on November 1, 2010. In July 2013, Nordion completed the divestiture of its Targeted Therapies business to BTG plc. The company is now focused on Nordion and its sterilization technologies and medical isotopes businesses. The company generated million USD (equivalent to $million in ) in revenues in the 2012 fiscal year, with over 70% of its revenue coming from within North America. Nordion sold its Medical Isotopes business in 2018. ==Products==