Using the TREAT reactor in support of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) experiments: A feasibility analysis

The technical feasibility of using the TREAT reactor facility for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) research was assessed. Using one-dimensional neutronics calculations, it was shown that the TREAT core neutron spectrum can be filtered to reduce the undesired radiation (contamination) dose per desired neutron more effectively than can the core spectra from two prominent candidate reactors. Using two-dimensional calculations, it was demonstrated that a non-optimized filter replacing the TREAT thermal column can yield a fluence of desired-energy neutrons more than twice as large as the fluence believed to be required and, at the same time, have a contamination dose per desired neutron almost as low as that from any other candidate facility. The time, effort and cost required to adapt TREAT for a mission supporting BNCT research would be modest