XA9848832 IAEA-TECDOC-1051 Management radioactiveof waste fromproduction"Mo INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY /A\ / November 1998 The IAEA does not normally maintain stocks of reports in this series. However, microfiche copie f thesso e reportobtainee b n sca d from ClearinghousS I N I e International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramerstrasse5 0 10 P.Ox Bo . A-1400 Vienna, Austria Orders shoul accompaniee db prepaymeny db f Austriao t n Schillings 100,- in the form of a cheque or in the form of IAEA microfiche service coupons which may be ordered separately from the INIS Clearinghouse. The originating Section of this publication in the IAEA was: Waste Technology Section International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramer Strasse 5 P.O. Box 100 A-1400 Vienna, Austria MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE FROM "Mo PRODUCTION IAEA, VIENNA, 1998 IAEA-TECDOC-1051 ISSN 1011-4289 ©IAEA, 1998 Printed by the IAEA in Austria November 1998 FOREWORD 99mTc used for labelling different pharmaceuticals is the most important radionuclide in nuclear medicine practice probabld an , y will continu plao t e y this importane t th rolr efo foreseeable future prominene Th . t positio f thino s radionuclid markee th o t bees n e eo ha t ndu 99m neas it r ideal nuclear properties reade th , y availabilit fore th f convenienm o n y i Mo/t99 T c generator systems and the rapid progress made in recent years in the development of a variety of 99mTc radiopharmaceuticals for application in oncology, cardiology and other fields. 99mTc e shorth s ti lived daughter produc e parenth f o tt 99Mo, whic s mainli h y producee th y b d nuclear fissio f 235o nU . Small amount 99f o sMproducee oar neutrode th als y ob n activation 99m method. However, current applications oMo/fT99 c generators almost completely depend fissioe onth n productio 99f no Mo . Managemen f radioactivo t e wastn integraa d s veri e an yl important par f 99o Mt o production, especiall r fissioyfo n 99 Moshould an , givee db n high priority during production process development and operation. To ensure a continued reliable and cost-effective supply of 9 Mo, the management of associated waste must be carried out in accordance with internationally accepted safety criteria and related national regulations. Recognizing the importance of the waste management issue associated with 99Mo productio e IAEth n A initiated preparatio f thio n s repor o providt t e Member Stated an s existing and potential producers of 99Mo with practical approaches and the available information on the subject. Because of the commercial character of 99Mo production in some countrie informatioe sth processee th managemen n n o no d san f relateo t d wastet mighno e b t comprehensive. In this context the objective of the report was to emphasize the main scale of the problem and to facilitate access to the accumulated experience, mainly for small and potential producers of 99Mo. Preparatio f thino s repor accomplishes wa t d throug consultanto htw s meetings heln di Vienn Decemben ai r Septembe199n i d 5an r 1996 IAEe Th . A would lik expreso et thanks sit s to all those who took part in the preparation of the report. The IAEA officer responsible for this publication was V. Efremenkov of the Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology. EDITORIAL NOTE In preparing this publication for press, staff of the IAEA have made up the pages from the original manuscript(s). The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the IAEA, the governments of the nominating Member States or the nominating organizations. Throughout textthe names Memberof States retainedare theyas were when textthe was compiled. The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by publisher,the legalthe IAEA,to the status as of such countries territories,or of their authoritiesand institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries. The mention namesof specificof companies productsor (whether indicatednot or as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA. CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................... 1 2. BASIC PROPERTIES OF MOLYBDENUM-99 AND TECHNETIUM-99m ......... 2 2.1. Nuclear properties ................................................ 2 2.2. Decay scheme of "Mo ............................................ 4 2.3. External irradiation ..............................................4 . 2.4. Internal contamination ............................................ 5 2.5. External contaminatio decontaminatiod nan n method ...................5 . 2.6. Purity specification of "Mo product .................................. 5 3. PRODUCTION METHODS OF MOLYBDENUM-99 .......................... 5 3.1. Introduction ....................................................5 . 3.2. Fission of highly enriched uranium ................................... 7 o productio3.2.1"M . Chalt na k River Laboratories (CRL), Canada ......7 . 3.2.2. "Mo production at the Institut National des Radielements (IRE), Fleurus, Belgium .........................................8 . 3.2.3. "Mo production at Mallinckrodt/ECN, Petten, Netherlands ........ 12 o productio3.2.4"M .Atomie th t na c Energy Corporation (AEC), South Africa ............................................. 13 o productio3.2.5"M . IPPEt na , Russian Federation ...................4 1 . aqueou3.2.6e Th . s homogeneous nuclear reacto prospectiva s ra e o sourc"M e ............................................6 1 . 3.2.7. ADONIS alternativn a : nucleao et r reactors ....................6 1 . 3.3. Fissioenrichew lo f no d uranium ....................................7 1 . o productio3.3.1"M . ANSTOt na , Lucas Heights, Australia ............7 1 . 3.3.2. LEU-USi process develope t Karlsruheda , Germany ............7 1 . 2 3.3.3. Productio3 n of "Mo using LEU silicide targets developed at Argonne National Laboratory, USA ......................... 19 3.4. Activation of 98Mo ............................................... 20 . WAST4 E CHARACTERISTICS FROM 99Mo PRODUCTION ...................3 2 . 4.1. Introduction ..................................................... 23 4.2. Theoretical assessmen fissioe th f no t ................................4 2 . 4.2.1. Calculation of the activation products .......................... 24 4.2.2. Calculation of actinides ..................................... 27 4.2.3. Calculation of fission products ............................... 28 o productio4.3"M . n from highly enriched uranium ........................8 2 . 4.3.1. Characterization of waste generated by "Mo production at CRL, Canada .................................................. 28 4.3.2. Waste arising froo productiom"M IREe th t ,n a Belgiu m .........0 3 . 4.3.3. Waste generation from fission of HEU at Mallinckrodt/ECN, Netherlands .............................................. 34 4.3.4. Waste froo productiom"M AECe th t na , South Africa ...........6 3 . 4.3.5. Waste generatio o productio"M y nb IPPEt na , Russian Federatio7 3 . n.. 4.4. "Mo production from low enriched uranium ........................... 38 4.4.1. Waste fro Australiae mth n process ...........................9 3 . 4.4.2. Waste from the Karlsruhe silicide process ...................... 40 4.4.3. Waste generated froo productiom"M n usinsilicidU gLE e target develope t Argonnda e National Laboratory A ...............,US 0 4 . 4.5. Production by neutron activation .................................... 40 4.6. Accelerator production ............................................ 40 4.7. Waste o productiorelate"M o dt n ...................................1 4 . 99mr 4.7.1. rc generator related waste ................................ 41 4.7.2. Waste from decommissionin facilitief o gproductioo "M r sfo n ....1 4 . 5. MANAGEMEN RADIOACTIVF TO E WASTE FRO o PRODUCTIOM"M N ......2 4 . 5.1. Introduction ...................................................2 4 . 5.2. On-site processing of radioactive waste from "Mo production ............. 42 5.2.1. On-site treatmen o wast "M CRL t f ea o t , Canada ................2 4 . 5.2.2. On-site waste treatment at the IRE, Belgium .................... 43 5.2.3. On-site treatment of waste from fission "Mo production at MallinckrodtyECN, Netherlands ...........................4 4 . 5.2.4. On-site processin wastf go e from fissio o production"M n in South Africa ........................................... 44 5.2.5. On-site treatment of waste from fission "Mo production at IPPE, Russian Federation .......................................5 4 . 5.2.6. Interim storage and proposed conditioning of waste from "Mo productio Australin ni a ....................................8 4 . 5.3. Off-site treatment of 99Mo production waste ........................... 48 5.3.1. Management of "Mo production waste at CRL, Canada ........... 48 5.3.2. Off-site processing of waste from the IRE, Belgium .............. 49 5.3.3. Off-site processing of waste from fission "Mo production at COVRA, Netherlands ...................................... 53 5.3.4. Waste conditioning and interim storage at the AEC, South Africa .... 53 5.3.5. Waste managemen interid an t m storag t IPPEea , Russian Federatio4 5 . n 5.4. Treatment of waste related to "Mo production ......................... 54 5.4.1. "mTc generator productio spend nan t generators ................4 5 . 5.4.2. Waste resulting from decommissioning .......................4 5 . 5.5. Requirement wastr sfo e disposal ...................................5