DOE Isotope Program Announces Restart of Bulk High Specific Activity (HSA) Co-60 Production
Previous Style and Redesigned Co-60 Sealed Source
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 (ORNL) to design a new production target, and they also consulted with representatives from the commercial sector, International Isotopes Idaho Inc. (INIS), and GE Power and Water (GE) for target design optimization. Details were presented at the 2014 International Group on Research Reactors Conference. For more information and to request a quote, please contact contact@isotopes.gov.
The 3-D image of the new robust end-cap closure for the re-designed target is shown below on the left. The image below on the right shows the new target's multi-channel loading feature which allows for increased production capacity.
