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Developing Techniques for Small Scale Indigenous Molybdenum 99 Production Using Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Fission or Neutron Activation
Closed for proposals
Project Type
Project Code
T12018CRP
193Approved Date
Status
Start Date
Expected End Date
Completed Date
24 May 2012Description
Technetium 99m, the daughter product of molybdenum 99, is the most commonly utilized medical radioisotope in the world. Annually, it is used for approximately 20-25 million medical diagnostic procedures, alone comprising some 80 % of all nuclear medicine procedures. Today, about 99 % of all molybdenum 99 is produced in research, test or isotope production reactors by irradiation of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) targets that are subsequently processed primarily to recover molybdenum 99.
There are only a few major producers of molybdenum 99, all of them utilizing HEU targets and dedicated processing facilities. At this time, the remaining 1 % of global molybdenum production is derived from the irradiation of Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) targets. Additionally, very small volumes of molybdenum 99 are being made from the irradiation of molybdenum 98 (neutron activation technique).
Proliferation concerns raised by the civil use of HEU are addressed by international undertakings supported by the IAEA, like the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) program. RERTR seeks to reduce and eventually eliminate international commerce in HEU. Accordingly, efforts have been undertaken to shift the production of medical isotopes away from the use of HEU. To achieve this objective, acceptable technologies will continue to be developed and proven for production of 99Mo from methods such as irradiation of LEU targets or neutron activation.
A CRP is proposed to assist developing Member States that intend to establish small, indigenous molybdenum 99 production with the development, transfer, and adaptation of techniques based on freely available LEU or neutron activation methods. Participants will acquire an understanding of the available technology and will be in a position to make a sound decision on whether to proceed with the domestic production of Mo99 or to look for alternative options to satisfy internal demand. In the case of the former, participants will have the necessary know-how to carry out production using the transferred available LEU technology. Technology transfer will include all the necessary production steps: target preparation, irradiation, radiochemical processing, safety, quality control and quality assurance.
Objectives
This CRP was intended to allow participants to examine the feasibility of producing Mo-99 on a small-scale, using LEU-based fission Mo-99 production or n, gamma Mo-99 production, and was a intended to foster technologies other than HEU targets
Specific objectives
Assess needs for waste management and quality control
Assess the feasibility of assembling targets, performing irradiations, target disassembly, and initial chemical processing.
Assess the feasibility of making LEU target materials.
Assess the feasibility of manufacturing Tc-99m generators
Impact
The CRP was intended as a large-scale feasibility study -- to allow participants to see whether they had the infrastructure and capabilities to produce enough Mo-99 to supply national demand. The IAEA brought together several institutions that were able to show participants what infrastructure and skills were necessary, and help fellow participants as they tried to carry out some of the work themselves. The participants involved learned the necessities, and also set an example (being captured in the forthcoming publication) about what other potential small-scale producers may want to consider if they embark on Mo-99 production.
Additionally, this CRP showed that making Mo-99 from non-HEU sources (LEU fission and neutron activation) is very feasible.
Relevance
The CRP was originally started to examine feasibility of non-HEU Mo-99 production methods. Against the backdrop of minimizing HEU in the civilian nuclear sector and the upcoming conversion of major Mo-99 producers from HEU to LEU, this CRP was extremely relevant, as it showed that at least two non-HEU paths to Mo-99 production are viable for national and regional demand levels.
Additionally, as supply shortages from the major producers became acute in 2009-2010, the CRP took on a new dimension -- it showed that states that have the ability to produce small quantities of Mo-99 can fulfil their own internal demand at least as a stop-gap, to ensure their Mo-99 supply does not disappear entirely. Some states with more infrastructure may want to produce their own national demand regularly; others may simply want to have the capability ready should the need arise in the future. This CRP allowed states to see what is involved in Mo-99 production, to make informed decisions about which strategy might be best for them to pursue.