NIDC News
Our NIDC News reports the latest developments in U.S. Department of Energy’s isotope production efforts, university partnerships, facility improvements, staff news, and other notable center activities as they occur. Stay Connected

September 11, 2017
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Isotope Program is pleased to announce the availability of heavy water (D2O) for research purposes. The general specifications of the material are given in the table below. Additional analytical results are available upon request.
The heavy water is packaged in polypropylene-coated, stainless steel kegs, each with a capacity of 50 L and measuring…

August 3, 2017
Following several years of constrained supply, the U.S. Department of Energy Isotope Program has replenished its inventory and is accepting new orders for the radioisotope uranium-234 (U-234), which is most commonly used to prolong the life of flux monitors for nuclear power plants. The available U-234 is recovered via chemical ion-exchange from substantial amounts of aged plutonium-238 housed at…

July 12, 2017
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Isotope Program is pleased to announce a new partnership with the University of Missouri that further strengthens the nation’s isotope portfolio. Finalized in May 2017, the partnership enables the University of Missouri Research Reactor Center (MURR), located in Columbia, Missouri, to supply the biological tracer and research isotope selenium-75 (Se-75)…

June 1, 2017
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Isotope Program seeks to remind the user community of the routine availability of radium-223 (Ra-223: t1/2 = 11.4 days) and thorium-227 (Th-227: t1/2 = 18.7 days). These alpha-emitters are obtained from Ac-227 cows to produce very high purity products. Isotopes milked from the cows are separated and purified at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Pacific…
May 20, 2016
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Isotope Program is pleased to announce the finalization of a partnership with the University of Washington’s (UW) Department of Radiation Oncology located at the UW Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. Finalized on April 29th, the partnership allows UW to supply astatine-211 (At-211) for pre-clinical research through the National Isotope Development Center’…
December 11, 2015
The DOE Isotope Program is developing production of strontium-89 (Sr-89) and will engage in routine production if there is sufficient demand. The National Isotope Development Center is planning to have millicurie quantities of non-GMP strontium-89 (Sr-89) solution available for evaluation by potential users. The distribution of samples is planned for mid-January, 2016. Please reply to…
July 24, 2015
The NIDC is soliciting interest for independent evaluation studies of Ac-225 produced at our accelerator facilities at Brookhaven and Los Alamos National Laboratories. This evaluation, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Isotope Program in the Office of Nuclear Physics, is part of the ongoing analysis of product performance and acceptance criteria. The key feature and focus of the…

April 16, 2015
The National Isotope Development Center (NIDC) is pleased to announce resumption of the routine availability of W-188 in the form of liquid solution, or as a W-188/Re-188 generator. If you are interested in purchasing W-188, please request a price quotation using the Online Catalog of Isotope Products. For more information, please contact our office at contact@isotopes.gov.
The W-188/Re-188…

April 13, 2015
The DOE Isotope Program (DOE IP) announces the resumption of target irradiations at the Idaho National Laboratory's (INL) Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) to provide bulk HSA cobalt-60 (Co-60) for sealed-source production. Irradiations had ceased in 2012 after the failure of a Co-60 production target. The DOE IP organized and supported a team of engineers from INL and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (…
September 5, 2014
Among the many radioisotopes, the Department of Energy's Isotope Program has been producing and distributing germanium-68 (68Ge) for research and commercial applications for many years. Germanium-68 has a half-life of 271 days and decays to the radionuclide gallium-68 (68Ga, half-life 68 minutes). Germanium-68 has been mainly utilized as a reference source for the calibration and normalization of…