I.

Application of Radioactive Substances

in Field of Medicine

1. Radiography

Radiography means making an image on film using a radiation source

(from x-ray or gamma radiation). The word 'Radiography' is the technical term
used for the common word 'x-ray'. Specific licensees radiograph welds, metal
ingots, castings, and other solid objects to detect structural defects.
Radiography also is used to determine the structural integrity of boilers,
bridges, digesters, and other industrial processing equipment to ensure
worker safety and process control. Radiography licensees must practice
ALARA because the radioactive sources used for radiography if used unsafely
can be very dangerous.
In nuclear medicine imaging, radiopharmaceuticals are taken internally,
for example, intravenously or orally. Then, external detectors (gamma
cameras) capture and form images from the radiation emitted by the
radiopharmaceuticals. This process is unlike a diagnostic X-ray, where
external radiation is passed through the body to form an image.

There are several techniques of diagnostic nuclear medicine.

2D: Scintigraphy ("scint") is the use of internal radionuclides to create two-

dimensional images.

1. A nuclear medicine whole body bone scan. The nuclear medicine whole
body bone scan is generally used in evaluations of various bone-related

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 pathology, such as for bone pain, stress fracture, nonmalignant bone
lesions, bone infections, or the spread of cancer to the bone.
2. Nuclear medicine myocardial perfusion scan with thallium-201 for the
rest images (bottom rows) and Tc-Sestamibi for the stress images (top
rows). The nuclear medicine myocardial perfusion scan plays a pivotal
role in the noninvasive evaluation of coronary artery disease. The study
not only identifies patients with coronary artery disease; it also provides
overall prognostic information or overall risk of adverse cardiac events
for the patient.
3. A nuclear medicine parathyroid scan demonstrates a parathyroid
adenoma adjacent to the left inferior pole of the thyroid gland. The
above study was performed with Technetium-Sestamibi (1st column)
and iodine-123 (2nd column) simultaneous imaging and the subtraction
technique (3rd column).
4. Normal hepatobiliary scan (HIDA scan). The nuclear medicine
hepatobiliary scan is clinically useful in the detection of the gallbladder
disease.
5. Normal pulmonary ventilation and perfusion (V/Q) scan. The nuclear
medicine V/Q scan is useful in the evaluation of pulmonary embolism
6. Thyroid scan with iodine-123 for evaluation of hyperthyroidism.

3D: SPECT is a 3D tomographic technique that uses gamma camera data from
many projections and can be reconstructed in different planes. Positron
emission tomography (PET) uses coincidence detection to image functional
processes.

1. A nuclear medicine SPECT liver scan with technetium-99m labeled

autologous red blood cells. A focus of high uptake (arrow) in the liver is
consistent with a hemangioma.

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 2. Maximum intensity projection (MIP) of a whole-body positron emission
tomography (PET) acquisition of a 79 kg female after intravenous
injection of 371 MBq of 18F-FDG (one hour prior measurement).

2. Areas of Medicine use Radiation

Although scientists have only known about radiation since the 1890s,
they have developed a wide variety of uses for this natural force. Today, to
benefit humankind, radiation is used in medicine, academics, and industry, as
well as for generating electricity. In addition, radiation has useful applications
in such areas as agriculture, archaeology (carbon dating), space exploration,
law enforcement, geology (including mining), and many others.

Medical Uses
Hospitals, doctors, and dentists use a variety of nuclear materials and
procedures to diagnose, monitor, and treat a wide assortment of metabolic
processes and medical conditions in humans. In fact, diagnostic x-rays or
radiation therapy have been administered to about 7 out of every 10
Americans. As a result, medical procedures using radiation have saved
thousands of lives through the detection and treatment of conditions ranging
from hyperthyroidism to bone cancer.
The most common of these medical procedures involve the use of x-
rays a type of radiation that can pass through our skin. When x-rayed, our
bones and other structures cast shadows because they are denser than our
skin, and those shadows can be detected on photographic film. The effect is
similar to placing a pencil behind a piece of paper and holding the pencil and
paper in front of a light. The shadow of the pencil is revealed because most
light has enough energy to pass through the paper, but the denser pencil stops
all the light. The difference is that x-rays are invisible, so we need

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photographic film to "see" them for us. This allows doctors and dentists to
spot broken bones and dental problems.
X-rays and other forms of radiation also have a variety of therapeutic
uses. When used in this way, they are most often intended to kill cancerous
tissue, reduce the size of a tumor, or reduce pain. For example, radioactive
iodine (specifically iodine-131) is frequently used to treat thyroid cancer, a
disease that strikes about 11,000 Americans every year.
X-ray machines have also been connected to computers in machines
called computerized axial tomography (CAT) or computed tomography (CT)
scanners. These instruments provide doctors with color images that show the
shapes and details of internal organs. This helps physicians locate and identify
tumors, size anomalies, or other physiological or functional organ problems.
In addition, hospitals and radiology centers perform approximately 10
million nuclear medicine procedures in the United States each year. In such
procedures, doctors administer slightly radioactive substances to patients,
which are attracted to certain internal organs such as the pancreas, kidney,
thyroid, liver, or brain, to diagnose clinical conditions.

3. Radioisotopes in Medicine
Nuclear medicine uses radiation to provide diagnostic information about
the functioning of a person's specific organs, or to treat them. Diagnostic
procedures using radioisotopes are now routine.
Radiotherapy can be used to treat some medical conditions, especially
cancer, using radiation to weaken or destroy particular targeted cells.
Over 40 million nuclear medicine procedures are performed each year,
and demand for radioisotopes is increasing at up to 5% annually.
Sterilization of medical equipment is also an important use of
radioisotopes.

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4. Nuclear Medicine
This is a branch of medicine that uses radiation to provide information
about the functioning of a person's specific organs or to treat disease. In most
cases, the information is used by physicians to make a quick, accurate
diagnosis of the patient's illness. The thyroid, bones, heart, liver and many
other organs can be easily imaged, and disorders in their function revealed.
In some cases radiation can be used to treat diseased organs, or tumours.
Five Nobel Laureates have been intimately involved with the use of radioactive
tracers in medicine.
Over 10,000 hospitals worldwide use radioisotopes in medicine, and
about 90% of the procedures are for diagnosis. The most common
radioisotope used in diagnosis is technetium-99, with some 35 million
procedures per year (16.7 million in USA in 2012, 550,000 in Australia),
accounting for about 80% of all nuclear medicine procedures worldwide.
In developed countries (26% of world population) the frequency of diagnostic
nuclear medicine is 1.9% per year, and the frequency of therapy with
radioisotopes is about one tenth of this. In the USA there are over 20 million
nuclear medicine procedures per year among 311 million people, and in
Europe about 10 million among 500 million people. In Australia there are
about 560,000 per year among 21 million people, 470,000 of these using
reactor isotopes. The use of radiopharmaceuticals in diagnosis is growing at
over 10% per year.
The global radioisotope market was valued at $4.8 billion in 2012, with
medical radioisotopes accounting for about 80% of this, and is poised to reach
about $8 billion by 2017. North America is the dominant market for diagnostic
radioisotopes with close to half of the market share, while Europe accounts
for about 20%.
Nuclear medicine was developed in the 1950s by physicians with an
endocrine emphasis, initially using iodine-131 to diagnose and then treat

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thyroid disease. In recent years specialists have also come from radiology, as
dual CT/PET procedures have become established, increasing the role of
accelerators in radioisotope production. However the main radioisotopes such
as technetium cannot effectively be produced without reactors.*

* Some Tc-99m is produced in accelerators but it is of lower quality and at

higher cost.

Computed X-ray tomography (CT) scans and nuclear medicine contribute 36%
of the total radiation exposure and 75% of the medical exposure to the US
population, according to a US National Council on Radiation Protection &
Measurements report in 2009. The report showed that Americans average
total yearly radiation exposure had increased from 3.6 millisievert to 6.2 mSv
per year since the early 1980s, due to medical-related procedures. (Industrial
radiation exposure, including that from nuclear power plants, is less than
0.1% of overall public radiation exposure.)
An important nuclear medicine procedure is Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (MRI), which uses powerful magnets and radio waves to create cross-
sectional images of organs and internal structures in the body. It does not use
radioisotopes or ionizing radiation, but relies on nuclear magnetic resonance
of hydrogen.

Diagnostic techniques in Nuclear Medicine

Diagnostic techniques in nuclear medicine use radioactive tracers which
emit gamma rays from within the body. These tracers are generally short-
lived isotopes linked to chemical compounds which permit specific
physiological processes to be scrutinised. They can be given by injection,
inhalation or orally. The first type are where single photons are detected by a
gamma camera which can view organs from many different angles. The

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camera builds up an image from the points from which radiation is emitted;
this image is enhanced by a computer and viewed by a physician on a monitor
for indications of abnormal conditions.
A more recent development is Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
which is a more precise and sophisticated technique using isotopes produced
in a cyclotron. A positron-emitting radionuclide is introduced, usually by
injection, and accumulates in the target tissue. As it decays it emits a positron,
which promptly combines with a nearby electron resulting in the simultaneous
emission of two identifiable gamma rays in opposite directions. These are
detected by a PET camera and give very precise indication of their origin. PET's
most important clinical role is in oncology, with fluorine-18 as the tracer, since
it has proven to be the most accurate non-invasive method of detecting and
evaluating most cancers. It is also well used in cardiac and brain imaging.
New procedures combine PET with computed X-ray tomography (CT)
scans to give co-registration of the two images(PETCT), enabling 30% better
diagnosis than with traditional gamma camera alone. It is a very powerful and
significant tool which provides unique information on a wide variety of
diseases from dementia to cardiovascular disease and cancer (oncology).
Positioning of the radiation source within the body makes the
fundamental difference between nuclear medicine imaging and other imaging
techniques such as x-rays. Gamma imaging by either method described
provides a view of the position and concentration of the radioisotope within
the body. Organ malfunction can be indicated if the isotope is either partially
taken up in the organ (cold spot), or taken up in excess (hot spot). If a series
of images is taken over a period of time, an unusual pattern or rate of isotope
movement could indicate malfunction in the organ.
A distinct advantage of nuclear imaging over x-ray techniques is that
both bone and soft tissue can be imaged very successfully. This has led to its

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common use in developed countries where the probability of anyone having
such a test is about one in two and rising.
The mean effective dose is 4.6 mSv per diagnostic procedure.

5. Radionuclide Therapy (RNT)

Rapidly dividing cells are particularly sensitive to damage by radiation.
For this reason, some cancerous growths can be controlled or eliminated by
irradiating the area containing the growth.
External irradiation (sometimes called tele therapy) can be carried out
using a gamma beam from a radioactive cobalt-60 source, though in
developed countries the much more versatile linear accelerators are now being
utilized as a high-energy x-ray source (gamma and X-rays are much the
same). An external radiation procedure is known as the gamma knife
radiosurgery, and involves focusing gamma radiation from 201 sources of
cobalt-60 sources on a precise area of the brain with a cancerous tumor.
Worldwide, over 30,000 patients are treated annually, generally as
outpatients. Tele therapy is effective in the ablation of tumors rather than
their removal; it is not finely tuned.

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 Internal radionuclide therapy is by administering or planting a small
radiation source, usually a gamma or beta emitter, in the target area. Short-
range radiotherapy is known as brachytherapy, and this is becoming the main
means of treatment. Iodine-131 is commonly used to treat thyroid cancer,
probably the most successful kind of cancer treatment. It is also used to treat
non-malignant thyroid disorders. Iridium-192 implants are used especially in
the head and breast. They are produced in wire form and are introduced
through a catheter to the target area. After administering the correct dose,
the implant wire is removed to shielded storage. Permanent implant seeds (40
to 100) of iodine-125 or palladium-103 are used in brachytherapy for early
stage prostate cancer. Alternatively, needles with more-radioactive iridium-
192 may be inserted for up to 15 minutes, two or three times. Brachytherapy
procedures give less overall radiation to the body, are more localized to the
target tumor and are cost-effective.
Treating leukemia may involve a bone marrow transplant, in which case
the defective bone marrow will first be killed off with a massive (and otherwise
lethal) dose of radiation before being replaced with healthy bone marrow from
a donor.
Many therapeutic procedures are palliative, usually to relieve pain. For
instance, strontium-89 and (increasingly) samarium 153 are used for the relief
of cancer-induced bone pain. Rhenium-186 is a newer product for this.
Lutetium-177 dotatate or octreotate is used to treat tumors such as
neuroendocrine ones, and is effective where other treatments fail. A series of
four treatments delivers 32 GBq. After about four to six hours, the exposure
rate of the patient has fallen to less than 25 micro Sieverts per hour at one
meter and the patients can be discharged from hospital. Lu-177 is essentially
a low-energy beta-emitter (with some gamma) and the carrier attaches to the
surface of the tumor.

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 A new field is targeted alpha therapy (TAT) or alpha radio
immunotherapy, especially for the control of dispersed cancers. The short
range of very energetic alpha emissions in tissue means that a large fraction
of that radiative energy goes into the targeted cancer cells, once a carrier such
as a monoclonal antibody has taken the alpha-emitting radionuclide such as
Bi-213 to exactly the right places. Clinical trials for leukemia, cystic glioma
and melanoma are under way. TAT using lead-212 is increasingly important
for treating pancreatic, ovarian and melanoma cancers.
An experimental development of this is boron neutron capture therapy
using boron-10 which concentrates in malignant brain tumours. The patient is
then irradiated with thermal neutrons which are strongly absorbed by the
boron, producing high-energy alpha particles which kill the cancer. This
requires the patient to be brought to a nuclear reactor, rather than the
radioisotopes being taken to the patient.
Radionuclide therapy has progressively become successful in treating
persistent disease and doing so with low toxic side-effects. With any
therapeutic procedure the aim is to confine the radiation to well-defined target
volumes of the patient. The doses per therapeutic procedure are typically 20-
60 Gy.
Treatment may involve significant radioactivity, e.g. 4.4 GBq is quoted
as an average dose of iodine-131 for thyroid ablation, and up to 11 GBq for
patients with advanced metastatic disease. According to US regulatory
guidelines for I-131, the patient can be released if the activity is below 1.2
GBq, or 0.07 mSv/hr at 1 meter. Meanwhile a lot of I-131 is flushed down the
hospital toilet and plumbing needs to be shielded accordingly.

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6. Biochemical Analysis
It is very easy to detect the presence or absence of some radioactive
materials even when they exist in very low concentrations. Radioisotopes can
therefore be used to label molecules of biological samples in vitro (out of the
body). Pathologists have devised hundreds of tests to determine the
constituents of blood, serum, urine, hormones, antigens and many drugs by
means of associated radioisotopes. These procedures are known as
radioimmune-assays and, although the biochemistry is complex, kits
manufactured for laboratory use are very easy to use and give accurate
results. In Europe some 15 million of these in vitro analyses are undertaken
each year.

7. Sterilizing
Gamma irradiation is widely used for sterilizing medical products and
supplies such as syringes, gloves, clothing and instruments, many of which
would be damaged by heat sterilisation. Cobalt-60 is the main isotope used,
since it is an energetic gamma emitter. Large-scale irradiation facilities for
gamma sterilisation are in many countries. Smaller gamma irradiators, often
with Cs-137, are used for treating blood for transfusions and for other medical
applications.

8. Diagnostic Radiopharmaceuticals
Every organ in our bodies acts differently from a chemical point of view.
Doctors and chemists have identified a number of chemicals which are
absorbed by specific organs. The thyroid, for example, takes up iodine, the
brain consumes quantities of glucose, and so on. With this knowledge, radio
pharmacists are able to attach various radioisotopes to biologically active
substances. Once a radioactive form of one of these substances enters the

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body, it is incorporated into the normal biological processes and excreted in
the usual ways.
Diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals can be used to examine blood flow to
the brain, functioning of the liver, lungs, heart or kidneys, to assess bone
growth, and to confirm other diagnostic procedures. Another important use is
to predict the effects of surgery and assess changes since treatment.
The amount of the radiopharmaceutical given to a patient is just
sufficient to obtain the required information before its decay. The radiation
dose received is medically insignificant. The patient experiences no discomfort
during the test and after a short time there is no trace that the test was ever
done. The non-invasive nature of this technology, together with the ability to
observe an organ functioning from outside the body, makes this technique a
powerful diagnostic tool.
A radioisotope used for diagnosis must emit gamma rays of sufficient
energy to escape from the body and it must have a half-life short enough for
it to decay away soon after imaging is completed.

The radioisotope most widely used in medicine is technetium-99m,

employed in some 80% of all nuclear medicine procedures hence some 30
million per year, of which 6-7 million are in Europe, 15 million in North
America, 6-8 million in Asia/Pacific (particularly Japan), and 0.5 million in
other regions. It is an isotope of the artificially-produced element technetium
and it has almost ideal characteristics for a nuclear medicine scan. These are:

It has a half-life of six hours which is long enough to examine metabolic

processes yet short enough to minimize the radiation dose to the
patient.

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 Technetium-99m decays by a process called "isomeric"; which emits
gamma rays and low energy electrons. Since there is no high-energy
beta emission the radiation dose to the patient is low.
The low energy gamma rays it emits easily escape the human body and
are accurately detected by a gamma camera. Once again the radiation
dose to the patient is minimized.
The chemistry of technetium is so versatile it can form tracers by being
incorporated into a range of biologically-active substances to ensure
that it concentrates in the tissue or organ of interest.

Its logistics also favor its use. Technetium generators, a lead pot enclosing
a glass tube containing the radioisotope, are supplied to hospitals from the
nuclear reactor where the isotopes are made. They contain molybdenum-99,
with a half-life of 66 hours, which progressively decays to technetium-99. The
Tc-99 is washed out of the lead pot by saline solution when it is required. After
two weeks or less the generator is returned for recharging.
A similar generator system is used to produce rubidium-82 for PET imaging
from strontium-82 - which has a half-life of 25 days.
Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) uses thallium-201 chloride or
technetium-99m and is important for detection and prognosis of coronary
artery disease.
Canadian 2006 data shows that 56% of Tc-99 use there is in myocardial
ischemia perfusion, 17% in bone scans, 7% in liver/hepatobiliary, 4%
respiratory, 3% renal, 3% thyroid.
For PET imaging, the main radiopharmaceutical is fluoro-deoxy glucose
(FDG) incorporating F-18 with a half-life of just under two hours as a
tracer. The FDG is readily incorporated into the cell without being broken
down, and is a good indicator of cell metabolism.

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 In diagnostic medicine, there is a strong trend to using more cyclotron-
produced isotopes such as F-18 as PET and CT/PET become more widely
available. However, the procedure needs to be undertaken within two hours
reach of a cyclotron, which limits their utility compared with Mo/Tc-99.

9. Therapeutic Radiopharmaceuticals

For some medical conditions, it is useful to destroy or weaken

malfunctioning cells using radiation. The radioisotope that generates the
radiation can be localised in the required organ in the same way it is used for
diagnosis through a radioactive element following its usual biological path,
or through the element being attached to a suitable biological compound. In
most cases, it is beta radiation which causes the destruction of the damaged
cells. This is radionuclide therapy (RNT) or radiotherapy. Short-range
radiotherapy is known as brachytherapy, and this is becoming the main means
of treatment.
Although radiotherapy is less common than diagnostic use of radioactive
material in medicine, it is nevertheless widespread, important and growing.
An ideal therapeutic radioisotope is a strong beta emitter with just enough
gamma to enable imaging, eg lutetium-177. This is prepared from ytterbium-
176 which is irradiated to become Yb-177 which decays rapidly to Lu-177.
Yttrium-90 is used for treatment of cancer, particularly non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma and liver cancer, and it is being used more widely, including for
arthritis treatment. Lu-177 and Y-90 are becoming the main RNT agents.
Iodine-131, samarium-153 and phosphorus-32 are also used for
therapy. Iodine-131 is used to treat the thyroid for cancers and other
abnormal conditions such as hyperthyroidism (over-active thyroid). In a
disease called Polycythemia vera, an excess of red blood cells is produced in
the bone marrow. Phosphorus-32 is used to control this excess.

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 Caesium-131, palladium-103 and radium-223 are also used for
brachytherapy, all being Auger (soft) x-ray emitters, and having half-lives of
9.7 days, 17 days, and 11.4 days respectively, much less than the 60 days of
iodine-125 which they replace.
A new and still experimental procedure uses boron-10, which
concentrates in the tumor. The patient is then irradiated with neutrons which
are strongly absorbed by the boron, to produce high-energy alpha particles
which kill the cancer. This is boron neutron capture therapy.
For targeted alpha therapy (TAT), actinium-225 is readily available,
from which the daughter bismuth-213 can be obtained (via three alpha
decays) to label targeting molecules. The bismuth is obtained by elution from
an Ac-225/Bi-213 generator similar to the Mo-99/Tc-99 one. Bi-213 has a 46-
minute half-life. The actinium-225 (half-life 10 days) is formed from
radioactive decay of radium-225, the decay product of long-lived thorium-
229, which is obtained from decay of uranium-233, which is formed from Th-
232 by neutron capture in a nuclear reactor.
Another radionuclide recovered from thorium-232, but by natural decay
via Th-228, is lead-212, with half-life of 10.6 hours, which can be attached to
monoclonal antibodies for cancer treatment by TAT. A Ra-224/Pb-212
generator system similar to the Mo-99/Tc-99 one is used to provide lead-212
from radium-224 (via Rn-220 and Po-216). Pb-212 has a half-life of 10.6
hours, and beta decays to bismuth-212 (1 hour half-life), then most beta
decays to polonium-212. The alpha decays of Bi-212 and Po-212 are the active
ones destroying cancer cells over a couple of hours. Stable Pb-208 results, via
thallium-208 for the bismuth decay.
Considerable medical research is being conducted worldwide into the
use of radionuclides attached to highly specific biological chemicals such as
immunoglobulin molecules (monoclonal antibodies). The eventual tagging of

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these cells with a therapeutic dose of radiation may lead to the regression
or even cure of some diseases.

10. Radioisotope Poisons

In 2006 Britain witnessed the murder of one of its newer citizens,

Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian intelligence official, by poisoning with
radioactive polonium. His death was slow and excruciating.
Polonium has about 26 isotopes, all of which are radioactive. Web
elements periodic table says that it is 250 billion times more toxic than
hydrocyanic acid. It is readily soluble in weak acid. (It was the first element
discovered by Marie Curie, in 1898, and named after her native Poland. Her
daughter Irene was contaminated with polonium in a laboratory accident and
died of leukemia at the age of 59.)

Polonium-210 is the penultimate decay product of U-238, before it alpha

decays to become stable lead. It results from the beta decay of Pb-210 (in the
U-238 decay series) to Bi-210 which rapidly beta decays to Po-210. This gives
rise to its occurrence in nature, where uranium is ubiquitous. However,
because of its short (138 day) half life, very little Po-210 would be found in
uranium ore or mill tailings (Webelements suggests 0.1 mg/tonne). Po-210
levels in soil would be even less, but it is concentrated in tobacco and traces
of it can be found in smokers' urine.

Po-210 can also be made by neutron irradiation of Bi-209, and that is

most likely source of any significant quantity. Russia has used Po-210 as a
heat source in short-life spacecraft and lunar rovers. It also operates reactors
using lead-bismuth cooling, which becomes contaminated with Po-210 due to
neutron bombardment.

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 Because its half-life is so short, a gram of Po-210 is about 5000 times
as radioactive as a gram of radium which sets the standard of activity. But
at 138 days its half-life is long enough for it to be manufactured, transported
and administered before it loses its potency. It would not put the carrier at
much risk, since alpha radiation is only really a hazard inside the body a
layer of skin is protection. About 10 micrograms (2 GBq) was said to have
been used, administered in a cup of tea (it would be warm due to the decay).
However, simply dosing someone with polonium might not have much
effect if it simply went in one end and out the other in a day or two without
being absorbed from the gut. It would probably need to be complexed on to
an organic carrier which would enter the bloodstream and take it to vital
organs where it would stay. (This is what happens with targeted alpha therapy
(TAT) using very low levels of alpha-active radioisotopes: the carriers take
them to dispersed cancerous tissues where they are needed.)
In Mr Litvinenko's case the intense alpha radiation was reportedly in
vital organs and sufficient to destroy them over three weeks. It was apparently
over one hundred times the dose used in TAT for cancer treatment and the
Po-210 is much longer-lived than isotopes used for TAT. It could have been
attached to something as simple as a sugar.
In 2003 an investigative journalist in Russia, Yuri Shchekochikhin was
fatally poisoned, and in 2004 a St Petersburg businessman Romam Tsepov
met a similar fate, his symptoms closely resembling those of Livinenko. Both
are considered to have been radiologically poisoned.

Supplies of radioisotopes

The main world isotope suppliers are Mallinckrodt

Pharmaceuticals (Ireland), MDS Nordion (Canada), IRE (Europe),NTP (South
Africa), Isotop-NIIAR (Russia) and ANSTO (Australia).

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Most medical radioisotopes made in nuclear reactors are sourced from
relatively few research reactors, including:
NRU at Chalk River in Canada (supplied via MDS Nordion)
HFR at Petten in Netherlands (supplied via IRE and Mallinckrodt)
BR-2 at Mol in Belgium (supplied via IRE and Mallinckrodt)
Maria in Poland (supplied via Mallinckrodt)
Osiris & Orphee at Saclay in France (supplied via IRE)
FRJ-2/ FRM-2 at Julich in Germany (supplied via IRE)
LWR-15 at Rez in Czech Republic
HFETR at Chengdu in China
Safari in South Africa (supplied from NTP)
OPAL in Australia (supplied from ANSTO to domestic market, exports
from 2016)
ETRR-2 in Egypt (forthcoming: supplied to domestic market)
Dimitrovgrad in Russia (Isotop-NIIAR)

Of fission radioisotopes, the vast majority of demand is for of Mo-99 (for

Tc-99m), and the world market is some US$ 550 million per year. About 40%
of it is supplied by MDS Nordion, 25% from Mallinckrodt (formerly Covidien),
17% from IRE and 10% from NTP. Over 90% of the Mo-99 is made in five
reactors: NRU in Canada (30-40%), HFR in Netherlands (30%), BR-2 in
Belgium (10%), Osiris in France (5%), Maria in Poland (5%), Safari-1 in South
Africa (10-15%) and OPAL in Australia (5%). Output from each varies due to
maintenance schedules.
Russia is keen to increase its share of world supply, and in 2012 some 66%
of its radioisotope production was exported. For I-131, 75% is from IRE, 25%
from NTP.
World demand for Mo-99 was 23,000 six-day TBq/yr* in 2012, but has
apparently dropped back to about 19,500 since. Mo-99 is mostly produced by

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fission of U-235 targets in a nuclear research reactor, much of this using high-
enriched uranium (HEU) targets. The targets are then processed to separate
the Mo-99 and also to recover I-131. OPAL, Safari, and increasingly other
reactors such as Maria use low-enriched uranium (LEU) targets, which adds
about 20% to production costs. However, in medical imaging, the cost of Mo-
99 itself is small relative to hospital costs. Mo-99 can also be made by
bombarding Mo-98 with neutrons in a reactor. However, this activation Mo-99
has relatively low specific activity, with a maximum of 74 GBq/g (depending
on the neutron flux available in the reactor), compared with 185 TBq/g or
more for conventional fission-produced Mo-99.

* 23,000 TBq is on basis of activity at 6 days from production reference point,

ie 22% of nearly 100,000 TBq required in production processing (given 66
hour half-life). This is still about two days from the end of irradiation, so some
167,000 TBq/yr must be made in the actual reactors to allow for cooling,
processing and decay en route to the users.

Emerging supply constraints

A number of incidents in 2008 pointed up shortcomings and unreliability

in the supply of medical isotopes, particular technetium. As indicated above,
most of the world's supply of Mo-99 for this comes from only five reactors, all
of them 43 to 52 years old (in mid 2010). The Canadian and Netherlands
reactors required major repairs over 2009-10 and were out of action for some
time. Osiris is due to shut down in 2015. NRU at Chalk River has been re-
licensed to 2016, and AECL is planning to extend operation to March 2018. A
new 20 MW South Korean reactor at Busan is expected to be operating in
2016. An increasing supply shortfall of Tc-99 was forecast from 2010, and the
IAEA is encouraging new producers. Also the processing and distribution of

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isotopes is complex and constrained, which can be critical when the isotopes
concerned are short-lived. A need for increased production capacity and more
reliable distribution is evident. The Mo-99 market is about $5 billion per year,
according to NECSA.
In 2009 the NEA set up the High-level Group on the Security of Supply
of Medical Radioisotopes (HLG-MR) to strengthen the reliability of Mo-99 and
Tc-99 supply in the short, medium and long term. It reviewed the Mo-99
supply chain to identify the key areas of vulnerability, the issues that need to
be addressed and the mechanisms that could be used to help resolve them.
It requested an economic study of the supply chain, and this was published in
2010 by the NEA. The report identifies possible changes needed. The historical
development of the market has an impact on the present economic situation,
which is unsustainable. The supply chains economic structure therefore needs
to be changed to attract additional investment in production capacity as well
as the necessary reserve capacity, and all supply chain participants worldwide
need to agree on and implement the changes needed.
The NEA report predicts supply shortages from 2016, not simply from
reactors but due to processing limitations. Historically reactor irradiation
prices have been too low to attract new investment, and full cost recovery is
needed to encourage new infrastructure. This will have little impact on end
prices since irradiation only accounts for about 1% of product cost. Transport
regulation and denial of shipment impede reliable supply. HEU use needs to
be minimized, though conversion to LEU targets will reduce capacity. Outage
reserve capacity needs to be sourced, valued and paid for by the supply chain.
Fission is the most efficient and reliable means of production, but Canada and
Japan are developing better accelerator-based techniques.
This led in December 2014 to a NEA Joint Declaration on the Security of
Supply of Medical Radioisotopes, focused on Mo-99, which is so far supported

20
by 13 countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands,
Poland, South Korea, Russia, South Africa, Spain, the UK and the USA.

US supply initiatives for Mo-99

The US Congress has called for all Mo-99 to be supplied by reactors

running on low-enriched uranium (LEU), instead of high-enriched uranium
(HEU). Also it has called for proposals for an LEU-based supply of Mo-99 for
the US market, reaching 111 six-day TBq per week by mid-2013, a quarter of
world demand. Tenders for this closed in June 2010, but evidently no
immediate progress was made. In December 2012 Congress passed the
American Medical Isotope Production Act of 2011 to establish a technology-
neutral program to support the production of Mo-99 for medical uses in the
USA by non-federal entities.
In mid-2013 Los Alamos National Laboratory announced that had
recovered Mo-99 from low-enriched sulphate reactor fuel in solution, raising
the prospect of this process becoming associated with commercial
reprocessing plants as at La Hague in France.
In January 2009 Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) announced an agreement with
international isotope supplier Covidien to produce Mo-99 sufficient for half of
US demand, if a new process involving an innovative reactor and separation
technology is successful. They planned to use Aqueous Homogeneous Reactor
(AHR) technology with low-enriched uranium in small 100-200 kW units units
where the fuel is mixed with the moderator and the U-235 forms both the fuel
and the irradiation target.* A single production facility could have four such
reactors. B&W and Covidien expected a five-year lead time to first production.
B&W received $9 million towards this Medical Isotope Production System
(MIPS) in 2010 from the US government and completed the R&D and
conceptual design phase in 2012. However, in October 2012 Covidien pulled

21
out of the joint venture with B&W after learning that the time and cost
involved with the project would be greater than originally expected. Covidien
said that it was "making significant long-term capital investment in a new Tc-
99m generator facility at our US plant, and conversion from HEU- to LEU-
based Mo-99 production at our processing plant in the Netherlands. B&W
appears to have dropped the MIPS.

* LEU is dissolved in acid then brought to criticality in a 200-litre vessel. As

fission proceeds the solution is circulated through an extraction facility to
remove the fission products with Mo-99 and then back into the reactor vessel,
which is at low temperature and pressure.

In the USA, Northstar Medical Technologies founded in 2006 is using the

University of Missouri research reactor (MURR) to irradiate Mo-98 targets with
neutrons, producing activation Mo-99. Such Mo-99 has relatively low specific
activity, and there are complications then in separating the Tc-99. The
company received approval to begin routine production in August 2015, and
aims eventually to meet half of US demand with 110 six-day TBq per week.
Production was envisaged from mid-2014, rising to meet half of US demand.
In November 2013 Northstar was awarded a $21.8 million cooperative
agreement half-funded by NNSA to support its non-uranium based Mo-99
production by neutron capture. A further $5.2 million grant from NNSA was
in November 2014. MURR runs on low-enriched uranium. Longer-term
Northstar is considering a non-reactor approach see below.
In 2015 Northstar Medical Radioisotopes signed an agreement with
Westinghouse to investigate production of Mo-99 in nuclear power reactors
using its Incore Instrumentation System.
In 2014 another plan using the US University Reactor Network was
announced. Northwest Medical Isotopes LLC (NWMI) plans to produce half of

22
North Americas demand for Mo-99 from 2017, using LEU targets. It has
licensed the process for small Triga reactors from Oregon State University,
which operates one of the 35 in USA, a Triga MkII of 1.1 MW. It is setting up
its 44,600 sq metre radioisotope production facility at the University of
Missouris Research Park at Columbia, Missouri. It is not clear whether this
involves the University of Missouri research reactor (MURR).
In February 2015 Nordion and its US parent Sterigenics International
announced a new arrangement with the University of Missouri research
reactor (MURR) and General Atomics to produce Mo-99 from LEU targets from
2017 using the 10 MW pool type reactor. This new medical isotope supply will
be produced using General Atomics innovative Selective Gaseous Extraction
(SGE) technology to extract the Mo from the targets.
In the USA Coqu Pharmaceuticals has signed a contract with
Argentinian nuclear engineering company INVAP to build an open-pool reactor
similar to Australias Opal, using LEU targets, and a Mo-99 production facility
at Alachua county, Florida.

Russian supply initiatives for Mo-99

In Russia, the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (NIIAR or RIAR,
with three reactors for isotope production) and Trans-regional Izotop
Association (becoming JSC Isotope in 2008) established a joint venture,
Isotop-NIIAR to produce Mo-99 at Dimitrovgrad from 2010. Phase 1 of the
Mo-99 production complex with capacity of 1700 TBq/yr was commissioned in
December 2010, and Phase 2 was commissioned in June 2012 taking capacity
to 1480 TBq/yr (evidently 6-day activity). Earlier reports quoted 4800 TBq/yr,
and Rosatom aimed for 20% of the world Mo-99 market by 2014, supplied
internationally through Nordion. In September 2010 JSC Isotope signed a
framework agreement with MDS Nordion to explore commercial opportunities
outside Russia on the basis of this Isotop-NIIAR JV, initially over ten years.

23
 Since 2009, JSC Isotope has been authorized by Rosatom to control all
isotope production and radiological devices such as RTGs in Russia. A second
production facility is Karpov IPC. Its product portfolio includes more than 60
radioisotopes produced in cyclotrons, nuclear reactors by irradiation of
targets, or recovered from spent nuclear fuel, as well as hundreds of types of
ionizing radiation sources and compounds tagged with radioactive isotopes. It
has more than 10,000 scientific and industrial customers for industrial
isotopes in Russia.
At Russia's Kurchatov Institute the 20 kW ARGUS Aqueous
Homogeneous Reactor (AHR) has operated since 1981, and R&D on producing
Mo-99 from it is ongoing. (See process description above, re B&W and MIPS).

Other reactor supply initiatives for Mo-99

Australia's Opal reactor has the capacity to produce half the world
supply of Mo-99, and with the ANSTO Nuclear Medicine Project will be able to
supply at least one quarter of world demand from 2017. ANSTO is building a
substantial Mo-99 production facility to ramp up quickly to 130 six-day TBq
per week, or 10 million Tc-99m doses per year, with exports to USA, Japan,
China and Korea.
During the 2009-10 supply crisis, South Africa's (NECSA) Safari was able
to supply over 25% of the world's Mo-99.

Non-reactor technetium
Technetium-99m or molybdenum-99 can also be produced in small
quantities from cyclotrons and accelerators, in a cyclotron by bombarding a
Mo-100 target with a proton beam to produce Tc-99m directly, or in a linear
accelerator to generate Mo-99 by bombarding a Mo-100 target with high-
energy X-rays. It is generally considered that non-reactor methods of

24
producing large quantities of Tc-99 are some years away. At present the cost
is at least three times and up to ten times that of the reactor route, and Mo-
100 is available only from Russia. If Tc-99 is produced directly in a cyclotron,
it needs to be used quickly, and the co-product isotopes are a problem.
In the USA, SHINE Medical Technologies is developing an advanced
accelerator technology for the production of Mo-99 as a fission product. It was
awarded a $3.2 million grant from NNSA in November 2014, and it has a $125
million debt financing package from healthcare investment firm Deerfield
Management. A low-enriched uranium target solution is irradiated with low-
energy neutrons in a subcritical assembly not a nuclear reactor. SHINE is an
acronym for Subcritical Hybrid Intense Neutron Emitter. A plant at Janesville,
Wisconsin, is planned eventually to supply half of the US demand for Mo-
99, and in February 2016 the NRC authorised a construction permit for the
project. In June 2016 China's largest producer and distributor of medical
radioisotopes, HTA, entered a strategic agreement for the supply of SHINEs
Mo-99.
In Canada the government has an Isotope Technology Acceleration
Program (ITAP) to promote R&D on non-reactor based isotope production,
particularly through the Medical Isotope Program (MIP). Canada Light
Source Inc (CLS) in Saskatoon is using a linear accelerator to bombard Mo-
100 targets with X-rays, and has produced some Mo-99 for MIP.

Northstar has long-term plans for producing Mo-99 from Mo-100 in an

accelerator.

Main Mo-99 Production Reactors

reactor targets capacity* start Est stop

Belgium BR-2 HEU 289 1961 2026

Netherlands HFR HEU 173 1961 2022

25
Czech Rep LVR-15 HEU 104 1989 2028

Poland Maria LEU 71 1974 2030

Canada NRU HEU 173 1957 2016

Australia OPAL LEU 37 2006 2030+

France OSIRIS HEU 44 1966 2015+

Argentina RA-3 LEU 15 1967 2027

Russia RIAR: three HEU 33 1961-70

South Africa Safari-1 LEU 111 1965 2025

total 1050

Planned Mo-99 Production Capacity

reactor targets capacity* start

Russia RIAR LEU 67-74 2013

USA B&W MIPS LEU 163 2015?

Germany FRM-II LEU 72 2016

Australia OPAL LEU 133+ (111 export) 2016

China CARR LEU 37 2017

USA Cocqui LEU 259 2017

* Six-day TBq/week
Source: Annex 1, 2 & 3, Supply of Medical Radioisotopes, March 2103,
OECD/NEA

Other medical radioisotopes

Cobalt-60 has mostly come from Candu power reactors by irradiation of
Co-59 in special rods for up to three years, and production is being expanded.
Production sites include: Bruce B, Pickering and Gentilly in Canada; Embalse
in Argentina; Qinshan Phase III units 1 and 2 in China; Wolsong 1 and 2 in

26
South Korea (all Candu); and Leningrad 1 in Russia (RBMK). These were to
be joined by the Clinton and Hope Creek BWRs in USA from 2012. Most of this
Co-60 is for sterilization, with high-specific-activity (HSA) Co-60 for cancer
treatment being made in Canadas NRU at Chalk River, and in future in the
Bruce B nuclear power plant.
Areva Med built a small plant at Bessines-sur-Gartempe in France to
provide lead-212 from irradiated thorium, and this came on line in 2013. A
second plant has been built at Plano in Texas, operating from 2016, and a new
industrial-scale plant is planned for Caen in France. A radium-224/Pb-212
generator similar to the Mo-99/Tc-99 one enables the Pb-212 to be eluted as
required for targeted alpha therapy (TAT). Ra-224 is a natural decay product
of Th-228, and indirectly, of Th-232.

11. Nuclear Medicine Wastes

The use of radioisotopes for medical diagnosis and treatments results in

the generation of mainly low-level waste(LLW). This waste includes paper,
rags, tools, clothing and filters, which contain small amounts of mostly short-
lived radioactivity. These types of waste often undergo decay storage for
periods of months to a few years before being disposed of at urban land-fill
sites.
When radiography sources have decayed to a point where they are no
longer emitting enough penetrating radiation for use in treatments, they are
considered as radioactive waste. Sources such as Co-60 are treated as short-
lived intermediate-level wastes (ILW). Other sources such as Radium-226,
used in cancer therapy, will however require long-term storage and geological
disposal as ILW, as a result of their higher level of long-lived radioactivity.
ANSTO Nuclear Medicine Project in Australia involves developing a co-
located Synroc treatment plant for its wastes from Mo-99 production. It will

27
treat legacy acid wastes as well as alkaline ones from ongoing production, and
construction is due to start in 2017. The final storage volume with Synroc will
be 1% of the same wastes cemented for disposal.

12. Isotopes used in Medicine

Many radioisotopes are made in nuclear reactors, some in cyclotrons.
Generally neutron-rich ones and those resulting from nuclear fission need to
be made in reactors, neutron-depleted ones are made in cyclotrons. There are
about 40 activation product radioisotopes and five fission product ones made
in reactors.

II. Application of Radioactive Substances

in Field of Industry

Radiation Is Widely Used in Industry

Today, practically every industry uses radiation in some way.
Manufacturers use radioisotopes to improve the quality of goods in thousands
of industrial facilities around the world.
Radiation loses energy as it passes through substances. Industry has
used radioisotopes to develop highly sensitive gauges to measure the
thickness and density of many materials. It also has used radioisotopes as
imaging devices to inspect finished goods for weaknesses and flaws.
Manufacturers commonly use small amounts of radioisotopes as tracers
in process materials. The tracers make it possible to track leakage from piping
systems and monitor the rate of engine wear and corrosion of processing
equipment. They also make it possible to observe the velocity of materials
through pipes and to gauge the efficiency of filtration systems.
Radioactive materials also are used in industry to inspect metal parts
and welds for defects; to measure, monitor and control the thickness of sheet

28
metal, textiles, paper napkins, newspaper, plastics, photographic film and
other products; to calibrate instruments; to manufacture ceramics and
glassware; and to generate heat or power for remote weather stations, space
satellites and other special applications.
Industries that use radioactive materials include:
the automobile industry, to test the quality of steel in vehicles
aircraft manufacturers, to check for flaws in jet engines
mining and petroleum companies, to locate and quantify oil, natural gas
and mineral deposits
can manufacturers, to obtain the proper thickness of tin and aluminum
pipeline companies, to look for defects in welds
Construction crews, to gauge the density of road surfaces and sub
surfaces.

1. Industrial Applications of Radiation

The discovery of radiation has had an enormous influence in stimulating

both major advances in fundamental science and a wide range of practical
uses, from medical diagnosis and therapy through to numerous industrial
applications. As with all technology, the risks involved must be properly
evaluated and managed, but there can be little doubt that the balance with
regard to these applications of radiation is very positive and that the value
gained is a major benefit from the development of atomic energy. Examples
are presented illustrating the main classes of industrial applications of
radiation using radioisotopes, reactors and accelerators. It focuses particularly
on the more specialised applications where the information is often unique
and especially valuable. The examples include the use of isotopes as tracers
both through direct addition or indirectly through radiation-induced activation;
attenuation, where the use of accelerator-stimulated high energy photons has

29
widened the applications of radiography; scattering, where neutron diffraction
and small angle neutron scattering has provided unique information on the
physical state of materials; and radiation-induced activation which has proved
to be a valuable analytical tool. The paper also highlights the importance of
advances in data analysis in enhancing the value of the techniques. Lastly, it
indicates more generally that the industrial uses of radiation continue to
expand and the field remains an exciting area of scientific and technological
development.

We could talk all day about the many and varied uses of radiation in
industry and not complete the list, but a few examples illustrate the point. In
irradiation, for instance, foods, medical equipment, and other substances are
exposed to certain types of radiation (such as x-rays) to kill germs without
harming the substance that is being disinfected and without making it
radioactive. When treated in this manner, foods take much longer to spoil,
and medical equipment (such as bandages, hypodermic syringes, and surgical
instruments) are sterilized without being exposed to toxic chemicals or
extreme heat. As a result, where we now use chlorine a chemical that is
toxic and difficult-to-handle we may someday use radiation to disinfect our
drinking water and kill the germs in our sewage. In fact, ultraviolet light (a
form of radiation) is already used to disinfect drinking water in some homes.
Similarly, radiation is used to help remove toxic pollutants, such as exhaust
gases from coal-fired power stations and industry. For example, electron beam
radiation can remove dangerous sulphur dioxides and nitrogen oxides from
our environment. Closer to home, many of the fabrics used to make our
clothing have been irradiated (treated with radiation) before being exposed to
a soil-releasing or wrinkle-resistant chemical. This treatment makes the
chemicals bind to the fabric, to keep our clothing fresh and wrinkle-free all
day, yet our clothing does not become radioactive. Similarly, nonstick

30
cookware is treated with gamma rays to keep food from sticking to the metal
surface.

The agricultural industry makes use of radiation to improve food

production and packaging. Plant seeds, for example, have been exposed to
radiation to bring about new and better types of plants. Besides making plants
stronger, radiation can be used to control insect populations, thereby
decreasing the use of dangerous pesticides. Radioactive material is also used
in gauges that measure the thickness of eggshells to screen out thin,
breakable eggs before they are packaged in egg cartons. In addition, many of
our foods are packaged in polyethylene shrinkwrap that has been irradiated
so that it can be heated above its usual melting point and wrapped around the
foods to provide an airtight protective covering.
All around us, we see reflective signs that have been treated with
radioactive tritium and phosphorescent paint. Ionizing smoke detectors, using
a tiny bit of americium-241, keep watch while we sleep. Gauges containing
radioisotopes measure the amount of air whipped into our ice cream, while
others prevent spillover as our soda bottles are carefully filled at the factory.
Engineers also use gauges containing radioactive substances to
measure the thickness of paper products, fluid levels in oil and chemical tanks,
and the moisture and density of soils and material at construction sites. They
also use an x-ray process, called radiography, to find otherwise imperceptible
defects in metallic castings and welds. Radiography is also used to check the
flow of oil in sealed engines and the rate and way that various materials wear
out. Well-logging devices use a radioactive source and detection equipment
to identify and record formations deep within a bore hole (or well) for oil, gas,
mineral, groundwater, or geological exploration. Radioactive materials also
power our dreams of outer space, as they fuel our spacecraft and supply

31
electricity to satellites that are sent on missions to the outermost regions of
our solar system.
Australian industry uses radioactive materials in a variety of ways to
improve productivity and safety and to obtain information that could not be
obtained in other ways.

Radioactive materials are used in industrial radiography, civil

engineering, materials analysis, measuring devices, process control in
factories, oil and mineral exploration, and checking oil and gas pipelines for
leaks and weaknesses. These uses directly and indirectly influence our
everyday lives. For example, measuring devices containing radioactive
materials are used in tasks ranging from testing the moisture content of soils
during road construction, to measuring the thickness of paper and plastics
during manufacturing, to checking the height of fluid when filling bottles in
factories. Radioactive materials are even used in devices designed to detect
explosives.
Nuclear techniques are increasingly used in science, industry and
environmental management. The continuous analysis and rapid response of
nuclear techniques, many involving radioisotopes, mean that reliable flow and
analytic data can be constantly available. This results in reduced costs with
increased product quality.

2. Definition of Radioisotopes
Many of the chemical elements have a number of isotopes. The isotopes
of an element have the same number of protons in their atoms (atomic
number) but different masses due to different numbers of neutrons. In an
atom in the neutral state, the number of external electrons also equals the
atomic number. These electrons determine the chemistry of the atom. The

32
atomic mass is the sum of the protons and neutrons. There are 82 stable
elements and about 275 stable isotopes of these elements.
When a combination of neutrons and protons, which does not already
exist in nature, is produced artificially, the atom will be unstable and is called
a radioactive isotope or radioisotope. There are also a number of unstable
natural isotopes arising from the decay of primordial uranium and thorium.
Overall there are some 1800 radioisotopes.
At present there are up to 200 radioisotopes used on a regular basis,
and most must be produced artificially.
Radioisotopes can be manufactured in several ways. The most common
is by neutron activation in a nuclear reactor. This involves the capture of a
neutron by the nucleus of an atom resulting in an excess of neutrons (neutron
rich).
Some radioisotopes are manufactured in a cyclotron in which protons
are introduced to the nucleus resulting in a deficiency of neutrons (proton
rich).
The nucleus of a radioisotope usually becomes stable by emitting an
alpha and/or beta particle. These particles may be accompanied by the
emission of energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation known as gamma
rays. This process is known as radioactive decay.
Radioisotopes have very useful properties: radioactive emissions are
easily detected and can be tracked until they disappear leaving no trace.
Alpha, beta and gamma radiation, like x-rays, can penetrate seemingly solid
objects, but are gradually absorbed by them. The extent of penetration
depends upon several factors including the energy of the radiation, the mass
of the particle and the density of the solid. These properties lead to many
applications for radioisotopes in the scientific, medical, forensic and industrial
fields.

33
3. Radioisotopes in Industry

Neutron techniques for analysis

Neutrons from a research reactor can interact with atoms in a sample
causing the emission of gamma rays which, when analysed for characteristic
energies and intensity, will identify the types and quantities of elements
present. The two main techniques are Thermal Neutron Capture (TNC) and
Neutron Inelastic Scattering (NIS). TNC occurs immediately after a low-energy
neutron is absorbed by a nucleus, NIS takes place instantly when a fast
neutron collides with a nucleus.
Most commercial analysers use californium-252 neutron sources
together with sodium iodide detectors and are mainly sensitive to TNC
reactions. Other use Am-Be-241 sources and bismuth germanate detectors,
which register both TNC and NIS. NIS reactions are particularly useful for
elements such as C, O, Al & Si which have a low neutron capture cross section.
Such equipment is used for a variety on on-line and on-belt analysis in the
cement, mineral and coal industries.
A particular application of NIS is where a probe containing a neutron
source can be lowered into a bore hole where the radiation is scattered by
collisions with surrounding soil. Since hydrogen (the major component of
water) is by far the best scattering atom, the number of neutrons returning to
a detector in the probe is a function of the density of the water in the soil.
To measure soil density and water content, a portable device with an
americium-241-beryllium combination generates gamma rays and neutrons
which pass through a sample of soil to a detector. (The neutrons arise from
alpha particles interacting with Be-9.) A more sophisticated application of this
is in borehole logging.

34
4. Gamma & X-ray Techniques in Analysis

Gamma ray transmission or scattering can be used to determine the ash

content of coal on line on a conveyor belt. The gamma ray interactions are
atomic number dependant, and the ash is higher in atomic number than the
coal combustible matter. Also the energy spectrum of gamma rays which have
been inelastically scattered from the coal can be measured (Compton profile
analysis) to indicate the ash content.
X-rays from a radioactive element can induce fluorescent X-rays from
other non-radioactive materials. The energies of the fluorescent X-rays
emitted can identify the elements present in the material, and their intensity
can indicate the quantity of each element present.
This technique is used to determine element concentrations in process
streams of mineral concentrators. Probes containing radioisotopes and a
detector are immersed directly into slurry streams. Signals from the probe are
processed to give the concentration of the elements being monitored, and can
give a measure of the slurry density. Elements detected this way include iron,
nickel, and copper, zinc, tin and lead.
X-ray diffraction (XRD) is a further technique for on-line analysis but
does not use radioisotopes.

5. Gamma radiography

Gamma radiography works in much the same way as X-rays screen

luggage at airports. Instead of the bulky machine needed to produce X-rays,
all that is needed to produce effective gamma rays is a small pellet of
radioactive material in a sealed titanium capsule.
The capsule is placed on one side of the object being screened, and
some photographic film is placed on the other side. The gamma rays, like X-

35
rays, pass through the object and create an image on the film. Just as X-rays
show a break in a bone, gamma rays show flaws in metal castings or welded
joints. The technique allows critical components to be inspected for internal
defects without damage.

Gamma sources are normally more portable than x-ray equipment so

have a clear advantage in certain applications, such as in remote areas. Also
while X-ray sources emit a broad band of radiation, gamma sources emit at
most a few discrete wavelengths. Gamma sources may also be much higher
energy than all but the most expensive X-ray equipment, and hence have an
advantage for much radiography. Where a weld has been made in an oil or
gas pipeline, special film is taped over the weld around the outside of the pipe.
A machine called a 'pipe crawler' carries a shielded radioactive source down
the inside of the pipe to the position of the weld. There, the radioactive source
is remotely exposed and a radiographic image of the weld is produced on the
film. This film is later developed and examined for signs of flaws in the weld.

X-ray sets can be used when electric power is available and the object
to be X-rayed can be taken to the X-ray source and radiographed.
Radioisotopes have the supreme advantage in that they can be taken to the
site when an examination is required and no power is needed. However,
they cannot be simply turned off, and so must be properly shielded both when
in use and at other times.

Non-destructive testing is an extension of gamma radiography, used on

a variety of products and materials. For instance, ytterbium-169 tests steel
up to 15 mm thick and light alloys to 45 mm, while iridium-192 is used on
steel 12 to 60 mm thick and light alloys to 190 mm.

36
6. Gauging

The radiation that comes from a radioisotope has its intensity reduced
by matter between the radioactive source and a detector. Detectors are used
to measure this reduction. This principle can be used to gauge the presence
or the absence, or even to measure the quantity or density, of material
between the source and the detector. The advantage in using this form of
gauging or measurement is that there is no contact with the material being
gauged.
Many process industries utilise fixed gauges to monitor and control the
flow of materials in pipes, distillation columns, etc, usually with gamma rays.
The height of the coal in a hopper can be determined by placing high
energy gamma sources at various heights along one side with focusing
collimators directing beams across the load. Detectors placed opposite the
sources register the breaking of the beam and hence the level of coal in the
hopper. Such level gauges are among the most common industrial uses of
radioisotopes.
Some machines which manufacture plastic film use radioisotope gauging
with beta particles to measure the thickness of the plastic film. The film runs
at high speed between a radioactive source and a detector. The detector signal
strength is used to control the plastic film thickness.
In paper manufacturing, beta gauges are used to monitor the thickness
of the paper at speeds of up to 400 m/s.
When the intensity of radiation from a radioisotope is being reduced by
matter in the beam, some radiation is scattered back towards the radiation
source. The amount of 'backscattered' radiation is related to the amount of
material in the beam, and this can be used to measure characteristics of the
material. This principle is used to measure different types of coating
thicknesses.

37
7. Gamma sterilization

Gamma irradiation is widely used for sterilising medical products, for

other products such as wool, and for food. It kills bacteria and does not
damage packaging. Cobalt-60 is the main isotope used, since it is an energetic
gamma emitter. It is produced in nuclear reactors, sometimes as a by-product
of power generation.
Large-scale irradiation facilities for gamma sterilisation are used for
disposable medical supplies such as syringes, gloves, clothing and
instruments, many of which would be damaged by heat sterilisation. Such
facilities also process bulk products such as raw wool for export from Australia,
archival documents and even wood, to kill parasites. Currently ANSTO in
Australia sterilises up to 25 million Queensland fruit fly pupae per week for
NSW Agriculture by gamma irradiation. See also The Peaceful Atom.
Smaller gamma irradiators are used for treating blood for transfusions
and for other medical applications. They often use caesium-137, with gamma
rays about half as energetic as cobalts.
Food preservation is an increasingly important application, and has been
used since the 1960s. In 1997 the irradiation of red meat was approved in
USA. Some 41 countries have approved irradiation of more than 220 different
foods, to extend shelf life and to reduce the risk of food-borne diseases.

8. Scientific uses

A. Tracers
Radioisotopes are used as tracers in many research areas. Most
physical, chemical and biological systems treat radioactive and non-
radioactive forms of an element in exactly the same way, so a system can be
investigated with the assurance that the method used for investigation does

38
not itself affect the system. An extensive range of organic chemicals can be
produced with a particular atom or atoms in their structure replaced with an
appropriate radioactive equivalent.
Using tracing techniques, research is also conducted with various
radioisotopes which occur naturally in the environment, to examine the impact
of human activities.
Even very small quantities of radioactive material can be detected
easily. This property can be used to trace the progress of some radioactive
material through a complex path, or through events which greatly dilute the
original material. In all these tracing investigations, the half-life of the tracer
radioisotope is chosen to be just long enough to obtain the information
required. No long-term residual radioactivity remains after the process.
Sewage from ocean outfalls can be traced in order to study its
dispersion. Small leaks can be detected in complex systems such as power
station heat exchangers. Flow rates of liquids and gasses in pipelines can be
measured accurately, as can the flow rates of large rivers.

Mixing efficiency of industrial blenders can be measured and the internal

flow of materials in a blast furnace examined. The extent of termite infestation
in a structure can be found by feeding the insects radioactive wood substitute,
then measuring the extent of the radioactivity spread by the insects. This
measurement can be made without damaging any structure as the radiation
is easily detected through building materials.

Measuring trace levels of radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons

testing in the 1950s and 60s is now being used to study soil movement and
degradation. This is assuming greater importance in environmental studies of
the impact of agriculture.

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B. Age Determination
Analyzing the relative abundance of particular naturally-occurring
radioisotopes is of vital importance in determining the age of rocks and other
materials that are of interest to geologists, anthropologists and
archaeologists. Dating techniques include: K-Ar (potassium-argon and its
more recent variant Ar-40/Ar-39), Rb-Sr (rubidium-strontium), Sm-Nd
(samarium-neodymium), Lu-Hf (lutetium-hafnium), and U-Pb (uranium-lead
and its variant Pb-Pb).

One common application is in determining the age of carbon-containing

materials up to about 20,000 years by measuring the abundance of carbon-
14, or its beta signature. This is a naturally-occurring radioisotope formed in
the upper atmosphere by cosmic rays converting nitrogen into C-14, also
known as radiocarbon. Living organisms are constantly incorporating CO2 with
this C-14 into their bodies along with other carbon isotopes (mostly C-12).
When the organisms die, they stop incorporating new C-14, and the
constituent C-14 starts to turn back into N-14 by beta decay. Carbon dating
of groundwater works similarly, the decay timer starting when the water with
dissolved CO2 leaves the atmosphere. The half-life of C-14 is 5730 years.
The age of water obtained from underground bores can be estimated
from the level of naturally occurring radioisotopes in the water. This
information can indicate if groundwater is being used faster than the rate of
replenishment.

C. Radioisotope thermoelectric generators

Radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) have been the main
power source for US and much other space work for over 50 years, since 1961.
The high decay heat of plutonium-238 (0.56 W/g) in particular enables its use
as an electricity source in the RTGs of spacecraft, satellites, navigation

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beacons, etc and its intense alpha decay process with negligible gamma
radiation calls for minimal shielding. Heat from the oxide fuel is converted to
electricity through static thermoelectric elements (solid-state thermocouples),
with no moving parts. RTGs are safe, reliable and maintenance-free and can
provide heat or electricity for decades under very harsh conditions, particularly
where solar power is not feasible.
Tritium and nickel-63 can be used for beta-voltaic cells, which have low
power but long life. They can be used in heart pacemakers or as power supply
for satellites. Russia is implementing a project to develop nickel-63 power
sources. The project involves several companies under the supervision of the
Mining and Chemical Combine at Zheleznogorsk.

D. Wastes
Industries and scientific establishments utilise radioactive sources for a
wide range of applications. When the radioactive sources used by industry no
longer emit enough penetrating radiation for them to be of use, they are
treated as radioactive waste. Sources used in industry are generally short-
lived and any waste generated can be disposed of in near-surface facilities.
Some industrial activities involve the handling of raw materials such as
rocks, soils and minerals that contain naturally occurring radioactive
materials. These materials are known by the acronym "NORM". Industrial
activity can sometimes concentrate these materials and therefore enhance
their natural radioactivity (hence the further acronym: TENORM - technically-
enhanced NORM). This may result in:
A risk of radiation exposure to workers or the public
Unacceptable radioactive contamination of the environment
The need to comply with regulatory waste disposal requirements

The main industries that result in NORM contamination are:

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E. Oil and gas operations
Oil and gas exploration and production generates large volumes of water
containing dissolved minerals. These minerals may be deposited as scale in
piping and oil field equipment or left as residues in evaporation lagoons.
Occasionally the radiation dose from equipment contaminated with mineral
deposits may present a hazard. More significantly contaminated equipment
and the scale removed from it may be classified as radioactive waste. Oil and
gas operations are the main sources of radioactive releases to waters north of
Europe for instance.

F. Coal burning
Most coal contains uranium and thorium, as well as other radionuclides.
The total radiation levels are generally about the same as in other rocks of the
Earth's crust. Most emerge from a power station in the light flyash. Some 99%
of flyash is typically retained in a modern power station (90% in some older
ones) and this is buried in an ash dam. Many hundred million tonnes of coal
ash is produced globally each year.

G. Phosphate fertilizers
The processing of phosphate rock to produce phosphate fertilizers (one
end product of the phosphate industry) results in enhanced levels of uranium,
thorium and potassium.

H. Process and waste water treatment

Radionuclides are leached into water when it comes into contact with
uranium and thorium bearing rocks and sediments. Water treatment often
uses filters to remove impurities. Hence, radioactive wastes from filter

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sludges, ion-exchange resins, granulated activated carbon and water from
filter backwash are part of NORM.

I. Scrap metal industry

Scrap metal from various process industries can also contain scales with
enhanced levels of natural radionuclides. The exact nature and concentration
of these radionuclides is dependent on the process from which the scrap
originated.

Metal smelting sludges

Metal smelting slags, especially from tin smelting, may contain
enhanced levels of uranium and thorium series radionuclides.
J. Research
Following the operation of a particle accelerator, the facility will
generally be decommissioned. As radioactive materials will be present in the
facility, these must be treated as radioactive wastes and handled accordingly.
Following a 40 year operation of one of the new generation of particle
accelerators, the volume of decommissioning waste and activity is expected
to be within the same order of magnitude as for a 1 GW(e) nuclear power
plant which has operated over 40 years. However, it should be noted that the
concentration of radioactivity is more evenly distributed in the case of such an
accelerator facility.
Radiation sources utilised within universities and research institutions
also require appropriate management and disposal. Many sources are of low
activity and/or short half-life. However some exceptions include high-level
long-lived sources such as Radium-226 and Americium-241 used in biological
and or agricultural research. These require long-term management and
disposal as Intermediate-Level Wastes (ILW).

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K. Naturally-occurring radioisotopes:
Carbon-14 (5730 yr):
Used to measure the age of wood and other carbon-containing materials (up
to 20,000 years) and subterranean water (up to 50,000 years).
Chlorine-36 (301,000 yr):
Used to measure sources of chloride and the age of water (up to 2 million
years).
Lead-210 (22.3 yr):
Used to date layers of sand and soil up to 80 years.
Tritium, H-3 (12.3 yr):
Used to measure 'young' groundwater (up to 30 years).

L. Artificially-produced radioisotopes:
Americium-241 (432 yr.):
Used in backscatter gauges, smoke detectors, fill height detectors and in
measuring ash content of coal.
Caesium-137 (30.17 yr):
Used for radiotracer technique for identification of sources of soil erosion and
deposition, in density and fill height level switches. Also for low-intensity
gamma sterilization.
Chromium-51 (27.7 yr.):
Used to label sand to study coastal erosion, also a tracer in study of blood.
Cobalt-60 (5.27 yr.), Lanthanum-140 (1.68 d), Scandium-46 (83.8 d), Silver-
110m (250 d), Gold-198 (2.7 d):
Used together in blast furnaces to determine resident times and to quantify
yields to measure the furnace performance.
Cobalt-60 (5.27 yr.):
Widely used for gamma sterilization, industrial radiography, density and fill
height switches.

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Gold-198 (2.7 d) & Technetium-99m (6 hr.):
Used to study sewage and liquid waste movements, as well as tracing factory
waste causing ocean pollution, and to trace sand movement in river beds and
ocean floors.
Gold-198 (2.7 d):
Used to label sand to study coastal erosion.
Hydrogen-3 (Titrated Water) (12.3 yr.): Used as a tracer to study sewage and
liquid wastes.
Iridium-192 (73.8 d):
Used in gamma radiography to locate flaws in metal components.
Krypton-85 (10.756 yr):
Used for industrial gauging.
Manganese-54 (312.5 d):
Used to predict the behavior of heavy metal components in effluents from
mining waste water.
Nickel-63 (100 yr)
Used in light sensors in cameras and plasma display, also electronic discharge
prevention and in electron capture detectors for thickness gauges. Also for
long-life beta-voltaic batteries. Made from Ni-62 by neutron capture.
Selenium-75 (120 d):
Used in gamma radiography and non-destructive testing.
Strontium-90 (28.8.yr):
Used for industrial gauging.
Thallium-204 (3.78 yr.):
Used for industrial gauging.
Ytterbium-169 (32 d):
Used in gamma radiography and non-destructive testing.
Zinc-65 (244 d):

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Used to predict the behavior of heavy metal components in effluents from
mining waste water.

III. Application of Radioactive Substances

in Field of Research

About Radioactive Material Used In Research

Some research facilities use radioactive materials in the development of
new medicines or products and in scientific studies. Radioactive materials can
be used in many kinds of laboratories and research facilities. Some examples
of how radioactive materials can be used in research include:

Medical Research
Medical researchers use radioactive materials to develop and test the
effectiveness of new medicines and treatments. For example, a specialized
detector that uses radioactive material called a tracer is used in some medical
laboratories to track how material travels through a person or animal. There
is a special field in medicine called radiopharmaceuticals that focuses on the
use of radioactive materials in medicine to help treat or cure diseases. The
creation and testing of new radiopharmaceuticals requires the use of
radioactive materials.

Agricultural Research
Agricultural researchers use radioactive materials to test the effectiveness of
new insect control techniques or materials. The same type of tracer that is
used in medical research can be used in agriculture to study how certain

46
materials move through plants. These tracers help researchers develop
products that can make crops heartier and more disease resistant.
When using radioactive materials in laboratories, researchers must consider
safety and waste disposal. Strict requirements must be met before a research
facility can order, store or use radioactive materials. Such facilities are
required to keep detailed records on radioactive materials in their possession
so that in the case of an emergency, responders would be well informed. If
radioactive waste is created as a result of the research, it must be disposed
of according to state and federal requirements.

Archeologist Research
Archeologists also use radioactive substances to determine the ages of
fossils and other objects through a process called carbon dating. For example,
in the upper levels of our atmosphere, cosmic rays strike nitrogen atoms and
form a naturally radioactive isotope called carbon-14. Carbon is found in all
living things, and a small percentage of this is carbon-14. When a plant or
animal dies, it no longer takes in new carbon and the carbon-14 that it
accumulated throughout its life begins the process of radioactive decay. As a
result, after a few years, an old object has a lower percent of radioactivity
than a newer object. By measuring this difference, archaeologists are able to
determine the objects approximate age.

Academic and Scientific Applications

Universities, colleges, high schools, and other academic and scientific
institutions use nuclear materials in course work, laboratory demonstrations,
experimental research, and a variety of health physics applications. For
example, just as doctors can label substances inside people's bodies, scientists
can label substances that pass through plants, animals, or our world. This
allows researchers to study such things as the paths that different types of air

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and water pollution take through the environment. Similarly, radiation has
helped us learn more about the types of soil that different plants need to grow,
the sizes of newly discovered oil fields, and the tracks of ocean currents. In
addition, researchers use low-energy radioactive sources in gas
chromatography to identify the components of petroleum products, smog and
cigarette smoke, and even complex proteins and enzymes used in medical
research.
Universities, colleges, high schools, and other academic institutions use
nuclear material in classroom demonstrations, laboratory experiments
research, and to provide health physics support to other institutional nuclear
materials users. These programs may vary in size from large, broad-scope
programs involving chemical, physical, biological engineering, and biomedical
research, to small programs using only gas chromatographs or self-shielded
irradiators. These facilities are licensed in accordance with 10 CFR 30, 40, or
70 depending on the type of materials possessed.

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