2007 International RERTR Meeting

Abstracts and Available Papers Presented at the Meeting

Progress and Status of the IAEA Coordinated Research Project: Production of Mo-99 Using LEU Fission 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 n,gamma neutron activation, e.g. through the use of gel generators. The project has made further progress since the RERTR 2006 meeting, with a Technical Workshop on Operational Aspects of Mo99 Production held 28-30 November 2006 in Vienna and the Second Research Coordination Meeting held in Bucharest, Romania 16-20 April 2007.

The paper describes activities carried out as noted above, and as well as the provision of LEU foils to a number of participants, and the progress by a number of groups in preparing for LEU target assembly and disassembly, irradiation, chemical processing, and waste management. The participants’ progress in particular on thermal hydraulics computations required for using LEU targets is notable, as also the progress in gel generator plant operations in India and Kazakhstan. Poland has joined as a new research agreement holder and an application by Egypt to be a contract holder is undergoing internal review in the IAEA and is expected to be approved. The IAEA has also participated in several open meetings of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences Study on Producing Medical Radioisotopes without HEU, which will also be discussed in the paper.

 

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