Cyclic irradiation method for production of radioisotope tracers using a low power research reactor

Abstract

Cyclic Irradiation Method (CIM) involving repeated irradiation of samples at regular time intervals to build up activity has been adopted for the production of 82 Br, 72 Ga, 140La, 24 Na and 46 Sc isotopes using the low power Ghana Research Reactor-1. The results indicate that the specific activities of radioisotopes from NH4Br, Ga2O3, La2O3, Na2CO3 and Sc2O3 targets increased with the number of irradiation as predicted by the theoretical calculations. Hence, the CIM could be used for radioisotope production in low power research reactors where due to limited excess core reactivity; the activities of radioisotopes produced through a single irradiation may be low for tracer applications. Journal of Applied Science and Technology (JAST), Vol. 7, Nos. 1 & 2, 2002, pp. 20 – 26