Report to NSAC of the Subcommittee on Isotopes
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Report for the Second of Two 2008 Charges to the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee on the Isotope Development and Production for Research and Applications Program Isotopes for the Nation's Future A Long Range Plan NSAC Isotopes Subcommittee August 27, 2009 The Cover: The discovery of isotopes is less than 100 years old. Today we are aware of about 250 stable isotopes of the 90 naturally occurring elements. The number of natural and artificial radioactive isotopes already exceeds 3200, and this number keeps growing every year. "Isotope" originally meant elements that are chemically identical and non-separable by chemical methods. Now isotopes can be separated by a number of methods such as distillation or electromagnetic separation. The strong colors and the small deviations from one to the other indicate the small differences between isotopes that yield their completely different properties in therapy, in nuclear science, and in a broad range of other applications. The surrounding red, white, and blue theme highlights the broad national impact of the DOE Isotope Development and Production for Research and Applications Program. 1 Executive Summary........................................................................................................................ 4 Chapter 1: Introduction............................................................................................................. 9 Chapter 2: History of DOE Isotopes Program........................................................................ 12 Chapter 3: Uses of Isotopes .................................................................................................... 17 3.A: Biology, Medicine, and Pharmaceuticals.............................................................. 17 3.B: Physical Sciences and Engineering....................................................................... 23 3.C: National Security and Other Applications ............................................................ 33 Chapter 4: Challenges for the Isotope Program...................................................................... 37 Chapter 5: Stable Isotopes ...................................................................................................... 44 Chapter 6: Accelerator Based Isotope Capabilities ................................................................ 53 Chapter 7: Reactor Based Isotope Capabilities ...................................................................... 71 Chapter 8: Isotope Harvesting from Long-Lived Stockpiles.................................................. 84 Chapter 9: Research and Development for Production and Use ............................................ 88 Chapter 10: Trained Workforce and Education........................................................................ 95 Chapter 11: Program Operations ............................................................................................ 103 Chapter 12: Budget Scenarios ................................................................................................ 125 Chapter 13: Summary of Recommendations for Charge 2..................................................... 128 References: ............................................................................................................................. 132 Appendix 1: The NSAC Charge .............................................................................................. 136 Appendix 2: Membership of NSAC Isotope Subcommittee ................................................... 139 Appendix 3: Agendas of Meetings I-V of NSACI .................................................................. 140 Appendix 4: List of Federal Agencies Contacted by NSACI.................................................. 144 Appendix 5: List of Professional Societies Contacted by NSACI........................................... 145 Appendix 6: List of Industry Trade Groups Contacted by NSACI ......................................... 146 Appendix 7: Summary of the Research Priorities and Recommendations of the First Report. ........................................................................................................ 147 2 Table of Sidebars 2.1 What is an Isotope?......................................................................................................... 13 3.A.1 Privatization of 90Y ......................................................................................................... 19 3.A.2 Characteristics of Radiation for Therapy........................................................................ 20 3.B.1 Search for Violations of Time Reversal Symmetry: A Test of the Standard Model of Particle Physics ............................................................................................... 25 3.B.2 Mössbauer Isotopes in the Synchrotron Era ..............................................................29-30 3.B.3 Radioisotope Thermal Generators to Explore the Planets .............................................. 32 3.C.1 137Cs as a Calibration Standard for Health Physics ........................................................ 36 4.1 Planning for the Life Cycle of Isotope Production ......................................................... 38 4.2 252Cf, a Valuable Neutron Source ................................................................................... 41 4.3 Molybdenum-99: A Major Concern .........................................................................42-43 5.1 Stable Isotope Tracers in Living Systems....................................................................... 45 6.1 82Sr: A Case History for International Cooperation. An Isotope's Journey from Research Application to Clinical Use............................................................................. 65 7.1 Reactor Radioisotopes and Health.................................................................................. 74 7.2 Reactors to Produce Neutron-Rich Isotopes................................................................... 79 7.3 Future Research Reactors for Isotope Production and Materials Irradiation.............81-83 9.1 New Uses for Low-Energy Cyclotrons........................................................................... 90 9.2 Alternative Accelerator Approaches to 99Mo Production............................................... 92 10.1 Workforce for Nuclear Medicine: Growing Needs and Few Training Grounds ........... 97 10.2 Workforce for Nuclear Forensics.................................................................................... 98 3 Executive Summary In 2009, with the signing of the FY09 Omnibus Spending Bill (Public Law 111-8), the Department of Energy’s Isotope Production Program was transferred from the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) to the Office of Science’s Office of Nuclear Physics (ONP). The name of the program has been changed from the National Isotopes Production and Applications Program (NIPA) to the Isotope Development and Production for Research and Applications Program (IDPRA). To prepare for this transfer, the Office of Nuclear Physics and the Office of Nuclear Energy organized a workshop held August 5-7, 2008, in Rockville, MD, that brought together the varied stakeholders in the isotopes enterprise to discuss "the Nation's current and future needs for stable and radioactive isotopes, and options for improving the availability of needed isotopes." The report [NO08] of the “Workshop on the Nation’s Needs for Isotopes: Present and Future” is available on the web (http://www.sc.doe.gov/henp/np/program/docs/Workshop%20Report_final.pdf). On August 8, 2008, the DOE-ONP requested the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee (NSAC) to establish a standing committee, the NSAC Isotope (NSACI) subcommittee, to advise the DOE Office of Nuclear Physics on specific questions concerning the isotope program. NSAC received two charges from the DOE Office of Nuclear Physics. The first charge requested NSACI to identify and prioritize the compelling research opportunities using isotopes. NSAC accepted the final report on the first charge in April 2009 and transmitted the report [NS09] to the Department of Energy (http://www.sc.doe.gov/henp/np/nsac/docs/NSAC_Final_Report_Charge1%20(3).pdf). The second charge is to study the opportunities and priorities for ensuring a robust national program in isotope production and development, and to recommend a long-term strategic plan that will provide a framework for a coordinated implementation of the Isotope Development and Production for Research and Applications Program. The NSACI subcommittee membership was chosen to have broad representation from the research, industrial, and homeland security communities. During the course of the subcommittee deliberations, a large number of federal institutions, professional societies, industry trade groups, and individual experts were contacted for input. The mission of DOE's isotope program is threefold: Produce and sell radioactive and stable isotopes, associated byproducts, surplus materials, and related isotope services. Maintain the infrastructure required to supply isotope products and related services. Conduct R&D on new and improved isotope production and processing techniques. The isotope program is a relatively small federal program (FY08 federal appropriation of $14.8M and FY08 isotope sales of $17.1M) that enables and is immersed in billion dollar enterprises including medical treatment, research, national security, and commercial production and