. 1 . no i $ 1 I OFI ORNLP 2190 .... : . . " : . . . i . . . . . . . } . 3. · 26 PEER 40 . . . MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS - 1963 O2VB - Cont: 660581 S JUN 27 1966 THE U. S. ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR HIGH-SPECIFIC-ACTIVITY ISOTOPES FOR RESEARCH AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS 1.00 Physics C. $ ....8 50 MIN P. S. Baker Isotopes Information Center Oak Ridge National Laboratory* RELEASED FOR ANNOUNCEMENT IN NUCLEAR SCIENCE ABSTRACTS I. INTRODUCTION -= . In the nuclear energy program there has been a continuing need for increased specific activities of many isotopes for numerous applications. The requirement for "point" sources has never been completely satisfied. For heat sources a maximizing of activity concentration is usually highly desirable. For tracer work mure nuclides are often more effective than impure sources. To these ends the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission is sponsoring a number of development programs directed toward making avail. able very high-specific-activity radioisotopes produced by fission, by reactor activation, and by charged particle bombardment in accelerators. The USAEC has considerable capability for producing large quantities LES of a wide variety of high-specific-activity ralioisotopes. However, for the past several years, in keeping with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, the production of many isotopes (33 as of May 1, 1966) has been assumed by private industry in the U. S. (Table I). To take the place of routine production, many of the facilities and technical personnel are redirecting their efforts into special develcpmental programs. It is the purpose of this paper to indicate some of these programs and the isotopes involved. In general, high-chemical-purity as well as high-isotopic-purity targets are usually preferred for radioisotope production in both reactors and accelerators since 1) more efficient use of neutrons or charged-particle beams results; 2) higher specific activities (or activity concentrations) T . . 1 result; and 3) unwanted side activities, resulting from the activation of *Operated by Union Carbide Corporation for the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission. . . . . . . " "W I N IE 1 4 , .YA !' . He ...,' the .. . ... ..' : :.. . . Tarie I. WITHDRAWN ISOTOPES 124 Sb 12556 109ca 115ca 58c0b4cu 55fe595€ 32P 426 859 1135n 7EAS 77AS 82Br 45ca 115mca 142ce 234cs 51cr 198A4 199A4 2251 1311 1401a 197Hg 203H8S90 755e 220mAg 24Na 8558 652 . . :. i - . ---- - - - . . TEGAL NOTICE This report ni prepurod u wa N.count of Government sponsored work. Neither the traited Statos, por the Commission, dor hay person ucting on behalf of the Comaalaston: A. Wekas any warruty or represcatation, exprused or implied, with respect to the accr- racy. coapstoners, or watulacan of the laformation contatood ta dhuis report, or this the ne of any information, appuntos, method, or proces daclound to fide report may not betstaga prinitaly mond rietta; or 8. Anremos uv labaudies with respect to them was of, or for damage maaltter f.om the une of any buformation, uuritus, method, or process discloud ba the reports As und in the abon, "parroa acting a balall of the Countertop" lacluded my mo- plogna or contractor ata Commisson, or employee of cha anatracte, to the atunt that pesca saplogue or cotractor of the Commission, or maployo al rock contactar propria diumenabrates, or provides ascolto, my taformadoa permanent to Ho caplogans or contract with the Commissia', or to amploymeat with such contracto . 1 - ZEIT other isotopes of the target element, are reduced or almost entirely elimi. nated. However, the added cost of an enriched target must be balanced against these advantages as well as against the economic advantages resulta ing from more eficient use of neutrons or charged particles. II. REACTOR-PRODUCED ISOTOPES Among the reactor-produced isotopes involved in developmental efforts are 60Co, 244Cm, 192 Ir, 198Au, several fission products, and a number of isotopes not ordinarily obtainable, or available only as accelerator- produced products. A. Cobalt-60 The desirability of high-specific-activity 6oCo for point sources 18 well recognizai. Buü its use for heat sources has only recently been pursued (1-3). Specific activities up to 700 c/g are currently being produced in the high-flux (4 x 1025 n/cm2.sec) (4,5) reactors at the Savan- nen River Plant of the USAEC, although typical production is 50-500 c/g. Power source outputs of up to 60 kw(e) are contemplated. Since SRO has the capacity for producing in excess of 450 kw/t) per year as merely inci- dental production, and a stated (6) capacity of many tens of megacuries per reactor per year if the reactor charge is designed for 60Co production, such sources are not at all unreasonable. The total capacity from power reactors is hundreds of megacuries, equivalent to several thermal mega- watts (7). Table II shows some physical data for 60Co sources. A possible advantage of 80Co over other potential heat-power sources is econocy in expense and development time. There are also some advantages (characteristic of isotope sources in general) over nuclear reactors as space-power sources: 1) greater reliability resulting from the elimination of reactor-associated problems of control, startup, and fuel failure; ET 2) elimination of neutron activation of coolants and space stations; - V .*** . : - + * et ,. . . . . ..-.. . Talle I. PHYSICAL DATA FOR 60CO SOURCES Output, kw Diameter of (15% Efficiency). Amount Spherical Electrical Thermal Mc l b Source, in. 67' 4.3 23.8 13.0 71.5 7.55 .60 400 26.0 143.0 9.5 . . || 0 10 67 5.2 5.2 200 AL P . . . i IWA -50 3) reduction or elimination of problem of coolant freeze-up, since source cannot be shut down. A limitation to the specific activity of BºCo 16 the nickel content of the source material. As shown in Fig. 1, both stable Boni and stable FidNi are produced during the activation of 5900, and the BONI continues to "grow in" due to Boco decay after irradiation has ceased (8). The nickel content at the completion of irradiation is, of course, a function of the reactor neutron flux level and the irradiation time; ultimately it is a function of decay time. For example, a 600 c/g source which contains 8% nickel at discharge would contain ~ 34% nickel when the source had decayed to an activity level of 300 c/g. A technique developed at ORNL for alleviating this problem involves dissolving the source, removing the nickel as the dimethylglyoxime complex, electroplating the resiäual cobalt into mercury, and then hot-die pressing the Hg-Co product to squeeze out the mercury and leave a metallic cobalt pellet. . An interesting extension of this technique permits the use of cobalt oxide as the target material for irradiation, since the activated product can be dissolved, freed of nickel, and then electrolyzed to give a metallic cobalt source. B. Curium-244 Also made possible by the high fluxes at Savannah River is the production of ~ 3 Kg 244 cm (9-11) from 239Pu by successive neutron capture (Fig. 2). Curium-244 has a half-life of 18 y and a specific power of 2.65 watts/8, making it suitable for thermionic and thermoelectric power T ! - conversion and hence for use in isotopic power sources. Several stages siya and intermediate separations are necessary. In the first stage the 239 Pu charge is converted to higher isotopes. In the second stage, the isotopes . I' M ORNL-DWG 65-2238 60mco . I.T. > 99 % 15 Ant ray 11. T. >99% 59c0n; Yn 60com, Y 6100 2242 60NI INI Fig. 4.1. Production of 60Co from $9 Co. . . . wy **** * 23° PRODUCTION CURIUM-244 Fig. 2. 240 * Fission 40P • 24²c 112 h - 2AA Amst , 244nu Fission # 243Arn on (13 h 243Y * 24P, H.. - - * 4 | - - - + 4 : : : - ೨ : 4 - - +'- - Y - t * S * - . , #. ••••, - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- + # 7 # 7 = = = "² 4 4 4 , 4G : - a = 8- of plutonium are converted to a mixture of 242 Pu, 243Am, and 244cm. Succeeding stages involve a series of steps designed to optimize the burnup of 242 Pu and avoid burnup of both the 243 An intermediate product and 244 Cm final product. A rather detailed chemical procedure assures recovery of - - - - the plutoni un and separation of the americium and curium. The final curium product is ~ 95% 244 cm. C. Iridiun-192 The usual specific activity for commercially availabla 192 Ir varies froin 100-200 c/g. Interestingly enough, one reason for this low value is the high cross-section of the 192 Ir target (%100 b). The usual target material is massive iridium metal, and the high neutron absorption at the surface precludes any appreciable activation near the center of the piece of metal. The result is a source with very high surface activity, but - - - - - rather low avera e activity. AT ORNI, F. N. Case has developed a procedure to overcome this, which consists of irradiating thin specimens of 191 1r to obtain specific activi. ties of ~ 1000 c/8, then fusing the wire or foil into a dead to provide an excellent "point" source. D. Gold-1.98 High-specific-activity 198Au can be obtained by wrapping the 197 Au target in cadmium prior to irradiation, to absorb thermal neutrons and minimize the 198Au(n,r) 199 Au reaction. It is possible, then, to capital- ize on the 4-ev rescnance-capture cross-section of the 197 Au(n,r)298 AU reaction without any buildup of 199Au impurity. Figure 3 shows the neutron P3 cross-section curve for the activation. A FORTRAI program (12) has been set up to evaluate a large number of such reactions. E. Fission Products F: 7 For a number of years, the USAEC has been sponsoring programs directed toward the development of methods for separation of gross quantities ORNL-DWG 65-14434 -- Oy (barns) - - - . *+2=. ta. cola .. Pope Gone Hoooogoorooo proca como 50 104 1 2 5 10 20 E (EV) Fig. Bi Total Neutron Cross Section for Pau. -10- cf high quality long-lived fission-product isotopes. The work with 137Cs, 90Sr, 147pm, and 244 Ce is well known. In particular, the work with 147 PM to give a product with near theoretical specific activity and extremely high chemical purity has been exemplary (33). However, development work in the areɛ of smaller quantities of short-lived fission isotopes has also been going on. 1. Iodine-131. Several years ago an economic study was made to compare four methods for the preparation of 1311: 1) from normal uranium, 2) from enriched uranium, 3) from normal tellurium (34% 130TE), 4) from enriched tellurium (96% 1301e). The fission-product iodine from enriched uri nium turns out to be not only cheaper to make, but to have a specific activity higher than that by any of the other methods. (However, use of 99% 130Te would give a comparable, but more expensive, product.) For a 4-week irradiation, the percentage of 1311 is nearly 4 times that from nornal tellurium. Furthermore, other fission-product isotopes can be re- covered as by-products (14). For shorter ir. di&tions, of course, the advantage is not so great. The process involves dissolution of the A1_235U target in NaOH, acidification of the resulting solution with H2SO4 and sparging with air to convert the iodide to elemental iodine and to sweep the Iz into NaOH-Na2S03 traps, then separation of the resulting iodide by sorption on platinum. 2. Xenon-133. Associated with the 1311 process discussed above is the separation of 133 Xe during the NaOH dissolution of the All-235ų target (15). The gas is passed through liquid nitrogen traps and a sulfuric acid scrubber and is collected on activated charcoal cooled in liquid nitrogen. In a normal a un, 300 curies of high-purity 133 Xe can be collected in the same run producing 200 curies of 1321. 3. Krypton-85. The usual fission-product 85Kr contains < 6% of the radioactive species; a typical analysis is 83Kr: 14%; 84Kr: 299" ; -1). 85Kr: 6%; BeKr: 51%. However, for many contemplated applications (16), a concentration of 40-50% is highly desirable. ORNL 18 currently enrich- ing 85Kr by thermal diffusion and, on an experimental basis, expects to prepare ~ 4000 curies/yr of ~ 45% 85Kr. F. Non-Fission-Produced Inert-Gas Isotopes In addition to fission-product 95Kr and 133xe, small quantities of three other Inert-gas isotores have recently become feasible (17). 1. Xenon-13īm. This Isotope was prepared by Irrad:lating elemental 12812 for 3 months; the reaction 18 1281(n, y)2301 12:5 h 130 xeln, y)231mxe. - - The product decays with a 12-de.y half-life by IT to 132 Xe. 2. Xenon-129. Normal 12712 18 irradiated for one month and 129m/e - - results: - - 1271(n,y) 1281 2:5 m 128xe(n,y)229mxe. The product decays with an 8-day half-life by IT to 128xe. 3. Krypton-79. Krypton-78, enriched to w7% (natural abundance, 0.35%), is irradiated for 3 days to produce 78Kr. It decays to 79Br by positron emission. G. Phosphorus-33 The availability of suitable 33P (free of 32p) depends essentially on the availability of the highly enriched stable 338 target (recently, 82% 335; natural abundance 0.74%). This makes possible high specific activity, high purity 337. H. Others Only a few neutron-deficient isotopes are produced in reactors. F - One that shows some promise of success is 1261 by the 127I(n,2n)1261 reaction. The specific activity can be greatly enhanced by using the . . W 12- Szilard-Chalmers effect. Another reactor-activated neutron-deficient isotope 18 37 Ar (decays by electron capture), prepared by the (ngo) reaction on 40ca. A number of other reactor-production methods are being studiet for 1sotopes not ordinarily available, or available in low yield only by accelerator irradiations. In general, transmutation reactions as well as enriched targets are being emphasized in order to give high yields of high-specific-activity products. Table III 118ts several of these 18otopes - - - which have been produced successfully. Others have been reported else. where (18,19). The 151 Sm, which can be prepared from either normal or enriched 150Na targets, is potentially a very useful isotope, since it decays with a 90-year half-1.1-e, giving off 22-kev y rays and 76-kev Ba particles. III. ACCELERATOR-PRODUCED ISOTOPES Neutron-deficient isotopes are prepared by a number of reactions, most of which occur in accelerators such as cyclotrons, e.g., (1,n), (p,pn), (p,2n), and (a,n). Charged-particle reactions have an advantage over most neutron-induced reactions in that transmutations result and the products can be separated carrier free. Moreover, energies of the bombarding particles can be controlled to give selective reactions. Unfortunately, yields are usually lower than for neutron-induced reactions. However, there are some instances where no neutron-induced reaction is available * for a particular product (e.g., 7Be and 48V). In these cases, relative yields are of no significance, of course. In other cases, the relative importances of yield and specific activity must be evaluated for any particular nuclide. Early work with cyclotron isotopes was reported by Martin et al. (20). . - - . . Since then, a considerable amount of effort at ORIIL has gone into the -. development of improved techniques for production of carrier-free 73 + - - . . . - - - . - - . - - - ill : SPECIAL, REACTOR ISOTOPES sre(n,6)37Ar 82Ni(n,a)58Fe 1 43 Ca(n,p)43K 745e(n,p)74AS 58Ni(n,p)58C0 84 Sr(n,p)84 Rb • 59coln,p)59 122re(n,y) 123mme 1981a(n,x)24014(n,r)24212 252 ce 150xa(n,r)251.pa 251 pm 1545m - : : -- - - - - -14- cyclotron products. The results of some of this work have been reported by Pinajian (18,21). Table IV lists information about a few of these isotopes. It will be apparent that a nuclide such as 52Cr, already capa - - - ** able of production as a neutron product with a specific activity > 1000 c/8, .. . ** 3 . . will have an even higher activity when prepared by the transmutation of - - - * - - - vanadiun. - - - - . - ... .. IV.. IMPROVED RADIO::SOTOPE GENERATORS v . -- - A radioisotope generator, or "milker," has the property of providing, . continuously, small quantities of a daughter by separation from a parent, --- I The purity depends upon a number of jactors, and can be greatly enhanced by proper choice of parameters. Both Brookhaven National Laboratory and ORNL have been working on the development of new isotope generators as well as on improvements in the more conmonly used generators (Mo-99MTc; 132Te-1321; 995r-987; 95Nb_852r; 877-87m$r; etc.). BNL has reported on much of the early work (22,23) and both BNI and ORNL have covered more recent work (24-28). Table V lists some of the newer or improved generators being worked on by BNL and ORNL. A report of the 44Sc generator should be available shortly, the tellurium : . . Y -: * generators are being reported on elsewhere at this conference, and the 42K generator needs a good source of 42Ar. i tauern., L the An interesting article by Brucer* (29) considers 118 possible generators. V. FUTURE WORK The availability of the High Flux Isotope Reactor later this year for activations at fluxes > 1025 n/cm • sec will open up a whole new field of development work, from economic considerations as well as from the stand- point of better products. Research quantities of all radioisotopes can are in be produced with activities approximately ten times those now available; *Former Director, Medical Division, of AEC's Oak Ridge Institute of Nucle:10 Studies. . 15 53 d TiO2 y ab's TT. EXPERIMENTAL YIELDS IN ORIL 86-INCH CYCLOTRON Nuclide Half-life Target Yield, mc/hr ? Be Li 16.1 à 27.8 a 54Mn 314 d. 2.6 y Mn 267 a Ni 245 a cu 4By 53 Cr V. 54 Cr Tc4 55Fe 5700 6521 84 RD 33 a Kr 2231. 13 223 Te ki. " fi ** 10 L . is * PI I 1.16 Tarbie Ď POTENTIAL MILKING SYSTEMS Daughter Half-life Parent BNL 4480 4.0 h 44T1 1318Te 25 m 131mme 67 m 1272 Te 9.3 h 127me 42K 12.4 h 1288Te 220mTe Half-life ~100 y 1.2 & 33 d 105 d 35 y 11.6 a 42 Ar 131 Ba ORNL 13108 288 Re 113mIn 9.7 a 17 h 1.75 h 188W 69 d 1135n 118 d -17- those isotopes with very long half-lives are particularly interesting, since activities are normally rather low (e.8., 36c1, 45ca, 55Fe, 63N1, 208ca, 110mAg, 113sn, 12556, 152Eu, 154 Eu, 270m, and 20471). A few of the short-lived 1sotopes will also become more useful, since the higher initial activities will allow an additional decay of several half-lives (e.8., 42K, 24Na, 64cu, 724a, 187W, 184Ir, 18712Hg). Also of potential significance 18 a "hot" calutron -- an electro- magnetic separator for separating and concentrating appreciable quantities of radioisotopes. Its feasibility has been demonstrated, and it 18 hoped that such a imit may become a reality in the next few years. . E . . References (1) DEXTER, A.H., 60 Co Heat Sources for 10-60 kwle) Generators, USAEC report DP-974, Savannah River Laboratory (July 1965). (2) KING, F.D.R., and ANGERMAN, C.L., Large-Scale Co-60 Heat Sources, USAEC report CONF-660305-14, Savannah River Laboratory (February 1966). (3) JOSEPH, J.W., Jr., ALLEN, H.F., ANGERMAN, C.L., and DEXTER, A.H., Radioactive Cobalt for Heat Sources, USAEC report DP-1012, Savannah River Laboratory (October 1965). (4) SMITH, J.A., HENNELLY, E.J., ICE, C.H., and. ALLEN, H.F., Isotope Production in á Savannah River Reactor at Flux levels above 1015 n/(cm2 sec), Trans. Amer. Nucl. Soc. 8, No. 1 (1965). (5) CRANDALL, J.L., Comp., The Savannah River High Flux Demonstra- tion, USAEC report DP-999, Savannah River Laboratory (June 1965). (6) ALLEN, H.F., Cobalt-60 Production at Savannah River, Nuclear News 1, No. 6 (1964) 22. (7) AEBERSOLD, P.C., USAEC. Advances in Radioisotope Production and Utilization in Science and Industry, P/196. Conf. Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, Geneva (August 31-September 9, 1964). (8) RUPP, A.F., Cox, J.A., and BINFORD, F.T., Radioisotope Produc- tion in Power Reactors, USAEC report ORNL-3792, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (May 1965). (99) OVERBECK, W.P., ICE, C.H., and DESSAUER, G., Production of Transplutonium Elements at Savannah River, USAEC report DP-1000, Savannah River Laboratory (November 1965). (96) MCDONELL, W.R., SMITH, P.K., STURCKEN, E.F., LIVINGSTON, J.T., THOMPSON, M.C., and MOSLEY, W.C., Jr., Curium-244 for Radioisotopic Heat Sources Work at the Savannah River Laboratory, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (February 1966). (9c) GROH, H.J., HUNTOON, R.T., SCHLEA, C.S., SMITH, J.A., and SPRINGER, F.H., 2446m Production and Separation -- Status of the Pilot Production Program at Savannah River, Nucl. Applications 1 (August 1965) 327-36. (10) FERGUSON, D.E., ORNL Transuranium Program – the Production of Transuranium Elements, Nucl. Sci. Eng. 17 (1963) 435-7. (11) RUPP, A.F., Reactor By- Products, from Reactor Technology Selected Reviews (1964+) 477-528, L.E. Link (Ed.). -4. 19 (12) FRIEND, C.W., and KNIGHT, J.R., ISOCRUNCH – Modifications to the CRUNCH Program for the IBM 7090, USAEC report ORNL-3689 (January 1965). (13) ORR, P.B., PRESSLY, R.S., and SPITZER, E.J., Evidence of the Absence of Long-Lived Isotopes of Promethium from Fission of Uranium, and the Purification of Promethium for the Establishment of a Primary Spectrographic Standard, USAEC report ORNL-3631 (January 1965). (14) CASE, F.N., Coordinator, ORNL Radioisotopes Procedures Manual, UEAEC report ORNL-3633 (June 1964). (15) CASE, F.N., and ACREE, E.H., Large Scale Preparation of High Purity I-131 and Xe-133 by Sorption Techniques, USAEC report ORNL-3840 (January 1966). (16) CARDEN, J.E., Preparation, Properties, and Uses of Kryptonates - Chemical Analyses, Isotopes and Radiation Technology 4, No. 3 (Spring 1966) in press. (17) ACREE, E.H., Preparation of Xenon-131m, Xenon-129m, and Krypton-79, USAEC report ORNL-3839 (May 1966) in press. (18) PINAJIAN, J.J., ORNL 86-In. Cyclotron, Radioactive Pharmaceuti- cals (May 1966) (AEC Symposium Series) 143-54. (19) O'BRIEN, H.A., Jr., Reactor Production of Carrier-Free Manganese- 54 from Natural Iron, Intern. J. Appl. Radiation Isotopes 16, No. 12 (December 1965) 747-9. (20) MARTIN, J.A., CROMPTON, R.S., MURRAY, R.L., and RANKIN, D., Radioisotope Production Rates in a 22-Mev Cyclotron, Nucleonics 13, No. 3 (1955) 28-32. (21) PINAJIAN, J.J., Production and Medical Uses of 67Ga, Bega, and 720a, Isotopes and Radiation Technology 1, No. 4 (1964) 340-3. (22) Brookhaven National Laboratory, Processed Isotopes Available from Brookhaven National Laboratory (1960). (23) GRHINE, M.W., DOERING, R.F., and HILLMAN, M., Milking Systemy: Status of the Art, Isotopes and Radiation Technology 1, No. 2 (1963-4) 152-4. (24) HILLMAN, M., Isotopes and Raliation Technology 2, No. 1 (1964-5) 92. (25a) RICHARDS, P., Nuclide Generɛ.tors, Radioactive Pharmaceuticals (May 1966)(AEC Symposium Series) 155-63. 2 . . . 02 I (250) HILIMAN, M., GREENE, M.W., BISHOP, W.N., and RICHARDS, P., Production of y87 and a Sr87ın Generator, Intern. J. Appl. Radiation Isotopes 17, No. 1 (January 1966) 9-12. c . - --- 9 . * - . STE . (26) PINAJI.AN, J.J., The Evaluation of the Hydrous Zirconium Oxide/ Nitric Acid System for Use in a 98M0-9510TC Generator (May 1966). (27) PINAJIAN, J.J., A 137Cs-137 Ba Isotope Generator (Submitted for publication to J. Chem. Ed., April 1966). (28) PINAJIAN, J.J., An 1321 Generator for 011 Soluble Systems (TO be submitted for publication in intern. J. Appl. Radiation Isotopes). (29) BRUCER, M., 118 Medical Radioisotope Cows, Isotopes and Radia- tion TechnolocL 3, No. 1 (Fall 1965) 1-12. . . -. : : . C 2 A6 . . . . . . END DATE FILMED 7 / 27 / 66 . . ..Y !. . - .: NE --- - - -- - - -