Issues in Isotope Production
and Use
Julie G. Ezold
July 2010
Isotope Importance
• Medical
M di l
– Imaging
– Cancer Treatment
PET Image
• Industrial
–
–
–
–
Nuclear reactor start
start-up
up
Well Logging
Material/Structural Inspection
Elemental Composition
Determination
– Sterilization
• Research
– From Basic to Applied Research
– Production and Application
Wolf Creek 3
Historical References
18901900
• 1895 X-Rays
discovered
• Fluorescence
• Radiation
November 6, 2009
SNM Applauds House Action
to Build Medical Isotopes
R
Reactor
t iin the
th U.S.
US
American Medical Isotopes
Production Act of 2009 Will
Ensure Reliable Medical
Isotope Supply
19001945
19451990
• Isotope defined
• 1st shipment of
medical
• Neutron
isotopes from
discovered
ORNL
• Artificiallyy
produced nuclides • Industrial
• Fission discovered applications of
nuclides
• ~96 elements &
• 1850 nuclides
750 nuclides
identified in
1972
• In 1989, the
DOE Isotope
Program
established
Medical Isotope Shortage Threatens Treatments
Medical isotopes, used in 40,000 US procedures daily, are in
short supply
By SUE MAJOR HOLMES Associated Press Writer
1990• Shortages of
industrial and
medical
isotopes
• US Legislation
to correct
domestic
issues
• Currently over
3100 nuclides
& 118 elements
US Isotope production snapshot
Pacific Northwest
Strontium• Parent for Y-90
90
Idaho
Iridium192
Missouri University Research
Center
Lutetium
Lutetium• Ovarian and colon
177
cancer treatment
• Multiple myeloma
Holmiumand rheumatoid
166
arthritis treatment
Phosporus• SPECT imaging
32
• Industrial
nondestructive
examination
Brookhaven: BLIP
• Antibody labeling
Copper 67
Copper-67
for cancer therapy
and imaging
• Calibration
Germanium- sources for PET
68
equipment;
antibody labeling
StrontiumS
82
• Cardiac imaging
• Surgical
equipment and
C b lt 60
Cobalt-60
blood
sterilization
UC David/McClellan
Iodine125
• Prostate cancer
py
therapy
Oak Ridge:
~233 Stable isotopes in inventory
Calcium-42
• C
Calcium
l i retention
t ti
studies
Calcium-43
• Nutrition
Calcium-44
• Bone growth
Calcium-45
• Nucleosynthesis
Calcium-48
• Nuclear physics
Strontium-88
• Reactor targets
for Sr-89
(for bone cancer
therapy and
monoclonal
antibody labeling)
Thallium-203
• Targets for
production
of TI-201 (for
cardiac imaging)
in accelerators
Radioisotopes
Los Alamos – LANSCE
• Alzheimer’s Aluminum‐
disease research
26
• Acid rain research
Acid rain research
• Antibody labeling for cancer Copper‐67
therapy and imaging
• Calibration
Calibration Germanium sources for PET ‐68
equipment; antibody labeling
Denton, Texas
Copper-67
• Cancer
therapy
Th lli
Thallium-201
201
• Cardiac
imaging
Savannah River: Helium-3
HeliumH
li
3
• Helium-lithium
and helium-neon
lasers
• Fuel
F l source ffor
fusion reactors
• Research on
properties of
superfluids
Selenium-75
• Industrial
nondestructive
examination
Nickel-63
• Explosives
detection
Californium-252
• Industrial source
Tungsten-188
• Cancer therapy
Actinium-225
• Cancer therapy
Isotope Production
A User’s Perspective
Grace Metzgar
Westinghouse Electric Company
July 19, 2010
A Case History
• May 2008
2008—The
The world changes for
hundreds of cf-252 users
• User
U
group iis fforced
d tto b
become active
ti
participants
• Admission of an unknowing addiction
• Recognition
g
of importance
p
and value
of isotope availability
What is Cf-252?
Cf 252?
• Cf-252:
Cf 252:
– Strong neutron generator
– Produced
P d
d att two
t
high-flux
hi h fl reactors
t
• DOE (ORNL)
• TENEX
– Shelf life is ~2.5 years
– Once an inexpensive material
• 1970: 1 ug=$10
• 2010: 1 ug=$300
Industry Users
• Material Analysis
– Cement, Coal
• Medical
– Cancer treatment
• Oil Exploration
– Deep
p hole well logging
gg g
Photo courtesy of Thermo Fisher
Industry Users
• Nuclear Energy
– New reactor starts
• Fuel Rod Integrity
– Pellet density
– Array
– Enrichment
Photo courtesy of Westinghouse
Material Crisis
• Budget constraints at DOE put
cf-252 program at risk
• Responses
– Requirements
R
i
t R
Review
i
•
•
•
•
Are there other solutions?
A there
Are
th
other
th sources?
?
What is our best long term strategy?
Who are the best partners?
Material Crisis
• Industry users banded together to
reinstate the program
– Direct interaction with DOE/ORNL
– Willingness to fund restart of program
– Willingness to devise material
subscription program
– Willingness to pay actual cost for material
Lessons Learned
• All sole source supply situations
are risky
• All suppliers must be managed
• A crisis is good for identifying
other affected parties
and for…
• Perfecting risk plans
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy
Women in Nuclear 2010
Commercial Isotope
Production
Jennifer Varnedoe
July 19, 2010
Isotope pioneers
General Electric Test Reactor (GETR)
-First commercially licensed test reactor
-Began
g operation
p
in 1959
-Developed industry standards
-Closed in 1974
Until 1974 …
World leader of Cd-109, Ca-45, Ca-47, C-14, Ce-141,
Cl-36, Cr-51, Co-58, Co-60, Ir-192, Fe-55, Fe-59,
Mn-54, Hg-197, Hg-203, Mo-99,
Ni-63, P-32, Rb-86, Se-75, Sr-85,
S 3 Tl
S-35,
Tl-204,
204 T
Tm-170,
1 0 S
Sn-113,
113
Sn-119m, Xe-133, Yb-169, Zn-65
14
Copyright 2010, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC, all rights reserved
Multiple BWR reactors
••• ••
••••
•
US - 35 GEH
•••
•••
••
•••
•••
••••
• • • ••••
••
•• •••
••• ••
•• ••
••
•••••
•••••
••• •••••
•• •
•••••
•••••
•
••••
••
Japan - 16 Toshiba*
••
Japan - 11 HGNE
Japan - 5 GEH
Sweden - 7 ASEA-ATOM
Germany - 6 Siemens KWU
Taiwan – 4 GEH
India - 2 GEH
Switzerland - 2 GEH
Mexico - 2 GEH
Spain - 2 GEH
• GEH BWRs
• Non-GEH BWRs
Finland - 2 ASEAATOM
* Includes GEH BWR technology licensed to Toshiba
Copyright 2010, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC, all rights reserved
15
Co-60 production process
Cobalt-59
Co59
Fuel bundles
Reactor core
Transport
Hot-cell
Co6
0
High specific activity cobalt60
Non-Invasive Cancer Treatments
Low specific
p
activity
y cobalt-60
Food irradiation & medical sterilization
16
Copyright 2010, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC, all rights reserved
Current Mo-99 isotope production
• Aging & obsolete production
facilities
51 year old Canadian reactor for Mo99 in extended shutdown (restart in
looming). HFR reactor in major
sh tdo n currently
shutdown
c rrentl
• Isotopes from nuclear fuel
Mo 99 is obtained mostly from highly
Mo-99
enriched uranium (HEU) targets
g visibility
y in Washington
g
• High
DOE awards grants to solve shortage
crisis with reliable, domestic Mo-99
supply without use of HEU
17
Copyright 2010, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC, all rights reserved
GEH molybdenum life cycle
99mTc
Generator
Applications
99Mo
6 day
irradiation
98Mo
Mixed by pharmacist for use
18
Copyright 2010, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC, all rights reserved
BWR irradiation of molybdenum
• BWR reliability
High capacity factor makes BWRs ideal to supply
p supply
pp y via molybdenum
y
domestic medical isotope
strings
• BWR isotope delivery system
GEH and utility collaborate to deliver domestic
medical isotopes using a TIP-like system
• Availability and timing
Online insertion and removal system allows for
timely insertion and retraction of molybdenum
strings
• Simplicity
Initial design simply reproduces existing, similar
y
with minimal system
y
modification
systems
19
Copyright 2010, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC, all rights reserved
US
S DOE
O Isotope Production &
Applications Program
Robert W. Atcher, PhD, MBA
Director NIDC
Director,
UNM/LANL Professor of Pharmacy
July 19
19, 2010
US Dept. of Energy IPA
The program was started in the late 1980’s
1980 s
• It initially was based in the Office of Nuclear
Energy
gy
• In 2009, the program moved to the Office of
Science, Office of Nuclear Physics
• As a result, the program has taken on a
more diverse role in supporting research &
development as well as commercial needs
Program activity
• The program supports production and
R&D on stable enriched and
radioactive isotopes
• Historically, it utilized facilities at
national
ti
l llabs
b - ANL,
ANL BNL
BNL, INL
INL, LANL
LANL,
ORNL, PNL
• More recently, university based
capabilities have been engaged
Reactor production
• Reactor irradiations
will be done at
HFIR,, ATR,, MURR
and McLellan
reactors
• The choice will
depend on target
size,
i
specific
ifi
activity and quantity
Accelerator production
• Parasitic production
was done at two linacs
• The Brookhaven Linac
Isotope Producer
(BLIP) was online first
• The Linac at LANL first
used the beam stop for
spallation and now has
a dedicated
d di t d iirradiation
di ti
station.
Accelerator production
• The Isotope
Production Facility
at LANL was
d i
designed
d tto pullll
beam at 100 MeV
• H+ ions are
diverted into the
target system
• Targets are
inserted and
removed remotely
Accelerator production
• Cyclotrons are being
added to produce
“boutique” quantities
• Washington Univ., NIH,
Univ. of Washington,
UC Davis
• Radionuclidic and
radiochemical purity
can be
b hi
higher
h
• Different particles used
to bombard the target
• Non-parasitic operation
Chemical processing
• After irradiation,
irradiation
chemical
processing is done
i h
in
hott cells
ll tto shield
hi ld
personnel from the
operation
• A combination of
speed and high
efficiency are
required
Stable enrichment
• Enrichment by
either centrifuge or
electromagnetic
g
technology
y the US
• Currently,
only enriches U for
nuclear fuel
• A new capability is
planned
Sales and Distribution
• ORNL maintains an
office to sell the
products of the IPA
• They are also
responsible for
arranging shipping and
transportation.
• Radionuclides are
shipped
hi
d ffrom the
th
production site
National Isotope Development
Center
• NIDC was formed as part of the NP
move
• Functions
F
ti
for
f the
th program
– Identify and provide technical expertise
– Schedule production
– Customer interactions
– Manage IBO at ORNL
– Shipping and transportation
– Communication
Isotopic issues of concern
• Cf
Cf-252
252 is critical for research and
industrial applications
• He-3
H 3 iis needed
d d ffor d
detectors
t t
iin a
variety of applications
• Am-241 is a byproduct that is now in
short supply
• Parasitic operation has impact on
availability
y
Global Issue of concern
• Mo-99 has been in short supply for the
l t year; it produces
last
d
T
Tc-99m
99 used
d iin
80 % of nuclear medicine imaging
• NRU and
d HFR h
have b
been offline
ffli ffor
unscheduled repairs; reactor age
• Processing
P
i ffacilities
iliti are needed
d d tto
separate Mo-99m, I-131 and Xe-133
from irradiated U targets
• Non-proliferation is also affecting
production
New problems developed
• Irradiated targets
g
could not be shipped
pp to
Canada for processing
– Containers too large for air transport
• Substitute radionuclides couldn’t meet
demand
– Tl-201 for cardiac imaging
– Rb-82 for cardiac imaging
– NaF-18
NaF 18 for bone imaging
• Alternate production schemes too
premature
• Volcanoes? Terrorists?
From adversity, opportunity
• Isotope production continues to
provide challenging problems
• Positions
P iti
att academic,
d i governmentt
and commercial employers
• Research and development in nuclear
science and engineering, chemistry
and chemical engineering, and other
areas
Thank you
Questions?
[email protected]