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Isotope production target irradiation experience at the annular core research reactor

Talley, Darren G.

As a result of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) recently issued by the Department of Energy, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has been selected as the {open_quotes}most appropriate facility{close_quotes} for the production of {sup 99}Mo. The daughter product of {sup 99}Mo is {sup 99m}Tc, a radioisotope used in 36,000 medical procedures per day in the U.S.{close_quote} At SNL, the {sup 99}Mo would be created by the fission process in UO{sub 2} coated {open_quotes}targets{close_quotes} and chemically separated in the SNL Hot Cell Facility (HCF). SNL has recently completed the irradiation of five production targets at its Annular Core Research Reactor (ACRR). Following irradiation, four of the targets were chemically processed in the HCF using the Cintichem process.