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AGA: Arbeitsgruppe Physik und Abrüstung

AGA 4: Fissile Material and Proliferation Resistance

AGA 4.5: Talk

Thursday, March 5, 2009, 17:30–18:00, VMP 9 HS

Proliferation risks of highly enriched uranium used for medical isotope production — •Martin B. Kalinowski — ZNF, Universität Hamburg

The use of highly enriched uranium (HEU) for medical isotope production is of concern for proliferation. The used target material is still of proliferation concern since only about 2% of the HEU is consumed, the irradiation time is in the range of two to ten days and part of the radioactivity is removed by chemical separation. As a result, after some cooling time the radiation barrier is not very high. While the global demand of HEU for research reactors is declining from more than 1,500 kg per year in 1978 to projected 500 kg/y in a few years, the use of HEU for medical isotope production is increasing and likely hitting an annual consumption level of 100 kg soon. Since molybdenum-99 is the most widely used medical isotope, the amount of irradiated HEU can be estimated from its consumption rate.