Production capabilities in US nuclear reactors for medical radioisotopes
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
- Westinghouse Hanford Co., Richland, WA (United States)
The availability of reactor-produced radioisotopes in the United States for use in medical research and nuclear medicine has traditionally depended on facilities which are an integral part of the US national laboratories and a few reactors at universities. One exception is the reactor in Sterling Forest, New York, originally operated as part of the Cintichem (Union Carbide) system, which is currently in the process of permanent shutdown. Since there are no industry-run reactors in the US, the national laboratories and universities thus play a critical role in providing reactor-produced radioisotopes for medical research and clinical use. The goal of this survey is to provide a comprehensive summary of these production capabilities. With the temporary shutdown of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) in November 1986, the radioisotopes required for DOE-supported radionuclide generators were made available at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR). In March 1988, however, the HFBR was temporarily shut down which forced investigators to look at other reactors for production of the radioisotopes. During this period the Missouri University Research Reactor (MURR) played an important role in providing these services. The HFIR resumed routine operation in July 1990 at 85 MW power, and the HFBR resumed operation in June 1991, at 30 MW power. At the time of the HFBR shutdown, there was no available comprehensive overview which could provide information on status of the reactors operating in the US and their capabilities for radioisotope production. The obvious need for a useful overview was thus the impetus for preparing this survey, which would provide an up-to-date summary of those reactors available in the US at both the DOE-funded national laboratories and at US universities where service irradiations are currently or expected to be conducted.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 10191510
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-12010; ON: DE93003669
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Nov 1992
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY
ISOTOPE PRODUCTION REACTORS
CAPACITY
RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS
MEDICAL SUPPLIES
RADIOISOTOPE GENERATORS
HFIR REACTOR
MITR REACTOR
ATR REACTOR
FFTF REACTOR
GTRR REACTOR
HFBR REACTOR
MURR REACTOR
OSTR REACTOR
OWR REACTOR
NUCLEAR MEDICINE
550604
550601
400703
UNSEALED RADIONUCLIDES IN THERAPY
UNSEALED RADIONUCLIDES IN DIAGNOSTICS
RADIOISOTOPE PRODUCTION