Greenwire: The Department of Energy has funded two projects aimed at producing a reliable supply of the isotope Molybdenum-99, a key component of radiology testing that has been in short supply for almost a year.
Normally used in about 40,000 procedures per day, the isotope became scarce last May when its main producer, a reactor in Chalk River, Ontario, was forced out of commission by a leak.
General Electric Co. announced yesterday it has received $2.25 million from DOE to develop a new production method for the isotope. The company intends to place a similar material called Molybdenum-98 into a nuclear power reactor, barraging the material with neutrons and causing some of it to become Molybdenum-99.
Another company, Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services Group Inc., has received $9 million toward the development of a new reactor. By using low-enrichment uranium, the reactor would mitigate the need to send weapons-grade uranium overseas.
U.S. Reps. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.) have sponsored a bill banning the production of medical isotopes from bomb-grade uranium. The bill passed the House and has not yet faced a vote in the Senate (Matthew Wald, New York Times, Jan. 25). – GN