Publication Laka-library:
Working materials Consultancy on Conversion planning for Mo-99 Production facilities from HEU to LEU
Author | IAEA |
6-07-4-60-21.pdf | |
Date | August 2010 |
Classification | 6.07.4.60/21 (MISCELLANEOUS - RADIO ISOTOPES - NUCLEAR MEDICINE / MEDICAL APPLICATIONS ) |
Front |
From the publication:
Working materials Consultancy on Conversion Planning for Mo-99 Production Facilities from HEU to LEU (10CT11937) Organized by International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria 24 – 27 August 2010 IAEA Headquarters, Vienna, Austria NOTE The views expressed remain the responsibility of the named participants and do not necessarily reflect those of the government(s) of the designating Member State(s). In particular, neither the IAEA nor any other organization or body sponsoring the meeting can be held responsible for this material. 1 of 29 FOREWORD Technetium 99m (Tc-99m), the daughter product of Molybdenum 99 (Mo-99), is the most commonly utilized medical radioisotope in the world, used for well over 30 million medical diagnostic procedures annually and comprising some 80% of all diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures. Until 2010, approximately 95% of Mo-99 consumed worldwide is produced in research, test or isotope production reactors by irradiation of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) targets that are subsequently processed primarily to recover Mo-99. There are mainly four large-scale commercial processors of Mo-99 (i.e. 1000 6-day curie or more per week), three of them utilizing HEU targets and dedicated processing facilities, while a fourth, (NTP/SAFARI-1, South Africa) is converting its process to Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) and a fifth producer (OPAL, ANSTO, Australia) is expanding current LEU-based production. In line with the international objective of minimizing and eventually eliminating the use of HEU in civil commerce, national and international e