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http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/aij/member/2010/2010-09-27c.pdf
JAEA and Private Firms Jointly Address Molybdenum Production Using
Accelerators 27
September 2010 The
Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and several Japanese companies are set
to jointly carry out R&D on the production of radioisotopes (RIs) using accelerators—looking
to medium- and long-term needs—given the increasingly instability
of the supplies of short-lived RIs, including molybdenum (Mo), which are
essential worldwide in nuclear medicine for the diagnosis of cancers and other
diseases. Simultaneously,
they will consider the domestic production of RIs using
the Japan Materials Testing Reactor (JMTR). A
special group to develop technology to produce RIs using neutrons generated by accelerators
was formed within JAEA, with the R&D carried out by Chiyoda Technol Corporation,
Fujifilm RI Pharma Co. and Sumitomo Heavy Industries. As
far as how to produce the RIs themselves, the group will consider the
practicability of
production systems and ways to establish the necessary technological
infrastructure in
cooperation with industry. JAEA will test manufacture RIs, and develop and
study basic
technologies to produce them, while the private firms will develop basic technologies
for applying RIs practically and evaluating economic efficiency. The
basic issues include the following: (1)
the technological infrastructure for the production of Mo-99 and technetium
(Tc)-99m, (2)
R&D on the generation of intense, fast neutrons, and (3)
feasibility studies concerning the application of production to diverse types
of RIs. Editor:
Mio Kimuro, JAIF |