Production of radioisotopes in the BR2 high‐flux reactor for applications in nuclear medicine and industry

Abstract

AbstractThe BR2 reactor, put into operation in 1963 and refurbished in 1995–1997, is a 100 MW high‐flux ‘materials testing reactor’ which provides thermal neutron fluxes up to 1015 n/cm2 s. The production of radioisotopes, characterized by high specific activities, is carried out in dedicated in‐core devices within standard irradiation cycles of 3–4 weeks and in accordance with a ‘quality system’ that has been certified to the requirements of the ‘EN ISO 9001:2000’ in November 2003. Due to its operating flexibility, its reliability and its production capacity, the BR2 reactor is considered as a major facility for a routine supply of radioisotopes such as 99Mo (99mTc), 131I, 133Xe, 192Ir, 186Re, 153Sm, 169Er, 90Y, 32P, 188W (188Re), 203Hg, 82Br, 79Kr, 41Ar, 125I, 177Lu, 89Sr, 60Co, 169Yb, 147Nd, etc. It will continue to play this key role with the possibility of an extra operating cycle from 2006 and the realization of various ‘test’ irradiations to develop the production of new radioisotopes. Some irradiation devices allow the loading and unloading of irradiated targets during the operation of the reactor. Hot cells and storage facilities are available to prepare and organize the shipment of the irradiated targets to dedicated processing facilities. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.