2006 International RERTR Meeting

Abstracts and Available Papers Presented at the Meeting

Progress in the IAEA Coordinated Research Project on Molybdenum-99 Production Using LEU or Neutron Activation

Ira N. Goldman, Natesan Ramamoorthy*, and Pablo Adelfang
Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology
*Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences
International Atomic Energy Agency
Wagramer Strasse 5, P.O. Box 100
A-1400 Vienna, Austria

ABSTRACT

Since late 2004, the IAEA has developed and implemented a Coordinated Research Project (CRP) to assist countries interested in initiating indigenous, small-scale production of Mo- 99 to meet local nuclear medicine requirements. The objective of the CRP is to provide interested countries with access to non-proprietary technologies and methods to produce Mo-99 using LEU foil or LEU mini-plate targets, or for the utilization of Mo-99 obtained by neutron activation of molybdenum trioxide target, e.g. through the use of gel generators. The project has made significant progress in the past year, with the First Research Coordination Meeting held 6-9 December 2005 in Vienna devising a project work plan, including coordinated research activities. In addition, a Workshop on Foil Target Fabrication and Processing was held 6-10 March 2006 in Serpong, Indonesia in cooperation with BATAN and Argonne National Laboratory, which also reviewed and updated the project action list. A number of participants are progressing in calculational work and other activities, and some lab material has already been provided or is being procured to support project participants. Legal and administrative requirements to support the provision or fabrication of foil targets are being determined. The paper describes activities carried out as noted above, and as well one participant group (India) completed the commissioning of a production facility for gel generators, following a few trial runs, they have commences limited production and supply of gel generators for use in hospital radiopharmacies. The University of Missouri research reactor has recently joined the CRP as another research agreement holder, thus the important requirements for fission molybdenum from LEU origin to be compliant as an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) for production of Tc- 99m generators will also be addressed in the CRP. Plans for an additional workshop to be held in Vienna in November 2006 with the support of a number of the major commercial Mo-99 producers as well as the Second Research Coordination meeting in Romania in April 2007 will be described.

 

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