positive nuclear tech news

["Michael C. Baker" <mcbaker@lanl.gov>]

FYI...Mike...mcbaker@lanl.gov



ORNL radioisotopes still making mark in medical research
January 25, 1999

By Frank Munger News-Sentinel staff writer

Among Oak Ridge National Laboratory's historic roles have been developing and
producing radioactive isotopes for medical and industrial uses. 

In fact, some people believe work with the isotopes has been ORNL's most
important role. 

Nuclear pioneer Alvin Weinberg, who directed the Oak Ridge laboratory for 18
years, offered his perspective in this oft-cited statement: 

"If at some time a heavenly angel should ask what the laboratory in the hills
of East Tennessee did to enlarge man's life and make it better, I dare say the
production of radioisotopes for scientific research and medical treatment will
surely rate as a candidate for the very first place." 

Times have changed, of course, since 1946, when the first shipment of
radioisotopes -- a container of carbon-14 -- was made to the Barnard Free Skin
and Cancer Hospital in St. Louis. 

The Graphite Reactor, built during World War II as a prototype facility for
production of bomb-usable plutonium, became the foremost producer of
radioisotopes in the post-war period. 

In its first full year, the Oak Ridge isotopes program made more than 1,000
shipments involving dozens of different radioisotopes. There was great
excitement about the potential for these radioactive materials, such as
phosophorus-32 and carbon-14, as treatments for cancer and other health
problems. 

The Graphite Reactor was shut down in 1963 and later designated a national
historic landmark, but the radioisotopes program remains one of ORNL's
signature activities. 

Today most of the radioisotopes are produced in the High Flux Isotope Reactor,
the most powerful research reactor in the United States. 

The shipment totals are down from decades past, primarily because most of the
widely used radioisotopes are now available from commercial sources in the
United States and abroad. 

By mandate, the federal lab does not compete with private business in the
United States. ORNL also is required to recover the production costs, which
puts it at a competitive disadvantage with some foreign suppliers,
particularly in Russia. 

In 1998, ORNL made 180 shipments involving 16 different radioisotopes. The
sales totaled $2,577,714. 

Those figures don't include the materials irradiated for research projects at
the Oak Ridge laboratory. 

"It's interesting because there's always some new things happening," said
Jerry Klein, a chemical engineer who took over management of ORNL's
radioisotopes program a couple of years ago. "We've got some real promising
areas." 

Indeed, the list of radioisotopes produced at the ORNL lab is always changing,
Klein said, citing a little known isotope -- lutetium-177 -- that's being
explored as a possible aid in cancer treatments. 

"It's got the right spectrum of energy," he said. 

As medical researchers develop and test new radiation therapies, ORNL is a
likely source for the materials needed in clinical trials. If new treatments
are successful, a market for a commercial source of the radioisotopes often
develops, and the lab then turns its attention elsewhere. 

One staple of ORNL's program is californium-252, a valuable radioisotope with
multiple applications but a material that's difficult and expensive to
produce. After a couple of years as the laboratory's No. 2 seller, californium
once again headed the sales list in 1998. 

Here are the Top 10: 

1. Californium-252 (Cf-252) -- Revenues topped $1.3 million. Californium is
used for reactor monitoring and controls. Because of some unique properties,
it's valued for portable neutron sources -- capable of detecting microscopic
flaws in airplane surfaces, etc. Cf-252 also is used in cancer research and
for some treatments, particularly ovarian/cervical cancer. 

2. Iridium-192 (Ir-192) -- Revenues last year of $601,068, that down
significantly from the totals seen in recent years. Other production sources
have been developed for this radioisotope. Iridium is used for radiation scans
in industry, but it's also been looked at for possible cancer treatments. 

3. Tungsten-188/Rhenium-188 (W-188/Re-188) -- Revenue of $193,430. This is the
hottest growth area in the radioisotopes program, gaining popularity in recent
years as new treatments are explored. The decay of tungsten produced the
rhenium isotope that has shown great promise as a treatment associated with
balloon angioplasty. The radiation helps prevent the reclogging of arteries
after the blood flow is re-established. Rhenium-188 also is being tested for
pain relief in bone cancer patients, and there are possible applications of
the radioisotope in new cancer therapies. 

4. Nickel-63 (Ni-63) -- Revenue of $187,520. Nickel-63 is used in gas-sensing
devices and as a "metabolic radiotracer." 

5. Actinium-225 (Ac-225) -- Revenue, $94,275. This is one of the few
radioisotopes sold by ORNL that's not produced in the High Flux Isotope
Reactor. The actinium comes from the decay process of U-233. Lab scientists
"mine" the U-233 for a thorium isotope that is then "milked" for the actinium.
Actinium is being studied as a possible cancer treatment, in which radiation
destroys the blood vessels that feed a tumor. Among the possible treatments:
Lung cancer. 

6. Curium-244 (Cm-244) -- Revenue, $52,994. Curium is used in X-ray
fluorescence analysis. 

7. Tin-117-metastable (Sn-117m) -- Revenue, $47,235. Tin also is being looked
at as a possible medical treatment for bone pain. 

8. Uranium-234 (U-234) -- Revenue, $30,000. This uranium isotope is used for
industrial purposes such as neutron sensing instruments. 

9. Technetium-99 (Tc-99) -- Revenue, $15,059. Technetium is used for various
research purposes, particularly metallurgical studies. 

10. Rhenium-186 (Re-186) -- This rhenium isotope also is being used for relief
of bone pain. 
========================================================

	
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Michael C. Baker
Radioassay and Nondestructive Testing Team
Environmental Science and Waste Technology Group
Mail Stop J594, Los Alamos National Laboratory
P.O. Box 1663, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (USA)

email:  mcbaker@lanl.gov             

Phone: (505) 667-7334        Fax: (505) 665-8346                 
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