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U.S., Europe radioisotope producers to cut HEU use
By Korea HeraldPublished : March 26, 2012 - 21:50
The U.S., Belgium, France and the Netherlands announced Monday that they agreed to enhance cooperation in minimizing the use of highly enriched uranium in producing medical isotopes.
Medical isotopes refer to radioactive materials used for medical purposes such as imaging organs and tumors, and HEU is their material of origin.
Under the agreement the four countries will collaborate in developing non-HEU-based production process to a level that stable supply of such materials is established by 2015.
As part of the efforts, Belgium, France and the Netherlands will dispose of scrap HEU. The U.S. and other partners will provide support for the project. In addition, the U.S. will provide the three European nations with HEU required to produce medical isotopes for the duration of the process of replacing the current production method with that using HEU.
In the long term, the four nations said that they hope to eliminate the use of HEU in medical isotope production completely.
Belgium, France and the Netherlands are among the largest producers of medical isotopes in the world. The combined output of the three countries accounts for 80 percent of Europe’s annual supply, and 30 percent that of the U.S.
“Simply put, we are reducing the availability of HEU, weapons grade material,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said, adding that their plans will ensure that the supply of molybdenum-99, a key medical radioisotope, will remain stable. “2015 is sufficient time frame and we are very confident that this will happen.”
However, the process of replacing HEU-based medical isotope production with a lowly-enriched uranium-based process will require approval from the authorities, which will take time and investment, the officials said.
In addition, as the HEU used for medical isotope production can be used in weapons production as well, the four countries plan to ensure that the material and facilities using HEU are provided with security measures as per the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)
Medical isotopes refer to radioactive materials used for medical purposes such as imaging organs and tumors, and HEU is their material of origin.
Under the agreement the four countries will collaborate in developing non-HEU-based production process to a level that stable supply of such materials is established by 2015.
As part of the efforts, Belgium, France and the Netherlands will dispose of scrap HEU. The U.S. and other partners will provide support for the project. In addition, the U.S. will provide the three European nations with HEU required to produce medical isotopes for the duration of the process of replacing the current production method with that using HEU.
In the long term, the four nations said that they hope to eliminate the use of HEU in medical isotope production completely.
Belgium, France and the Netherlands are among the largest producers of medical isotopes in the world. The combined output of the three countries accounts for 80 percent of Europe’s annual supply, and 30 percent that of the U.S.
“Simply put, we are reducing the availability of HEU, weapons grade material,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said, adding that their plans will ensure that the supply of molybdenum-99, a key medical radioisotope, will remain stable. “2015 is sufficient time frame and we are very confident that this will happen.”
However, the process of replacing HEU-based medical isotope production with a lowly-enriched uranium-based process will require approval from the authorities, which will take time and investment, the officials said.
In addition, as the HEU used for medical isotope production can be used in weapons production as well, the four countries plan to ensure that the material and facilities using HEU are provided with security measures as per the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)
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Articles by Korea Herald
