A strategy for intensive production of molybdenum-99 isotopes for nuclear medicine using CANDU reactors

Technetium-99m is an important medical isotope utilized worldwide in nuclear medicine and is produced from the decay of its parent isotope, molybdenum-99. The online fueling capability and compact fuel of the CANDU® reactor allows for the potential production of large quantities of 99Mo. This paper proposes 99Mo production strategies using modified target fuel bundles loaded into CANDU fuel channels. Using a small group of channels a yield of 89–113% of the weekly world demand for 99Mo can be obtained. - Highlights: ► Use of CANDU for production of 99Mo isotopes for medical use was shown to be viable. ► Periphery low power and central high power channel designs were investigated. ► The periphery design can satisfy 113% of demand with 4 bundles from 6 channels. ► The high power design can satisfy 89% of demand with 2 bundles from 3 channels. ► Economic challenges (fueling, facility and handling) need cost evaluation.