7-11 July 2019
EV61 - PEP T1: HEU to LEU Conversion and the Production of Mo-99 Without the use of HEU (Fairobent , Chapman)Orlando VI 12:15 - 14:15 |
| The National Academy of Sciences issued its first report on conversion of research reactor fuel and targets from HEU to LEU in 2009, as a result of a mandate for the National Research Council study from Section 630 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-58). Section 630 directed the Secretary of Energy to enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences for a study on the elimination of highly enriched uranium (HEU) from reactor fuel, reactor targets, and medical isotope production facilities. At that time Lynne was working for ACR and Jeff was working this very conversion problem at the SAFARI-1 reactor in South Africa. Since that time, which really started in as early as 2006, the Department of Energy has made considerable progress in assisting with the conversion of several reactors around the world, and began an effort to produce Mo-99 domestically. This PEP session will provide the historical framework as well as problems and issues encountered along the way, in producing this vital medical isotope, which accounts for more than 40,000 medical procedures a day in the United States. |
