Radioisotope Production Facility

Radioisotope Production Facility

Location of Radioisotope Production Facility
Operated	November 2011[1]
Location	Nuclear Research Center, Inshas, Egypt[2]
Coordinates	30°17′33.1″N 31°24′35.6″E / 30.292528°N 31.409889°ECoordinates: 30°17′33.1″N 31°24′35.6″E / 30.292528°N 31.409889°E
Products	^51Cr, ^125I, ^131I, ^192Ir, ^99Mo and Technetium-99m generators loading[2][3]
Area	1,200 m^2 (13,000 sq ft)[4]
Owner(s)	Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority[2]

The Radioisotope Production Facility (RPF), is a facility for the production of radioisotopes from irradiation of Low enriched uranium (LEU) in the ETRR-2 reactor. The (RPF) was supplied by the Argentine company Investigacion Aplicada (INVAP)^[5] and was commissioned during October and November 2011.^[1] The produced radioisotopes are uesd in medicine, industry and research activities.^[4]

The RPF is owned and operated by the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (AEA)^[6] at the Nuclear Research Center in Inshas, 60 kilometers northeast of Cairo.^[7][8]

History

The Radioisotope Production Facility (RPF) was initially highlighted during the 2004/2005 investigation by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as Egypt declared the new facility which was under construction to the agency. Egypt should have reported the decision to construct the new facility no later than 1997 and it was considered failure to report.^[9] Egypt took a corrective actions and provided a modified design information for the RPF.^[10]

RPF was inaugurated by the former Prime Minister, Ibrahim Mahlab on 15 August, 2015^[11] and the ceremony was attended by Conrado Assenza, the Associate Ambassador of Argentina in Egypt; Mohamed Shaker, the Minister of Electricity and Energy of Egypt; Sherif Hamad, the Minister of Scientific Research of Egypt; Atef Abdel Fattah, the President of the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (AEA) and Yasser Tawfik, the project director.^[8]

Overview

The Radioisotope Production Facility (RPF), is a Low enriched uranium (LEU) based facility.^[12]

The produced high-level waste from the RPF, stored near the ETRR-2 reactor waiting for final disposal in deep geological formations.^[13]

Products

Radioisotope Production Facilty capable of producing the following:

• Chromium-51, through the irradiation of potassium chromate targets (0.5 Ci per week), used as injectable medical product.^[3][14]
• Iodine 125, through the irradiation of xenon gas (5 Ci per week), used for nuclear medicine.^[3][14]
• Iodine-131, through the fission of LEU (10 Ci per week), which used for nuclear medicine.^[3][4][14]
• Iridium-192, through the irradiation of natural iridium sheets (100 Ci per month), used for industrial gamma radiography.^[3][4][14]
• Iridium-192 wire, through the irradiation of iridium-platinum-alloy targets for brachytherapy.^[3]
• Molybdenum-99, through the fission of LEU plate targets (1000 Ci per week), which used for medical diagnosis.^[3][4][14]

See also

• ETRR-2
• Nuclear program of Egypt
• Hydrometallurgy Pilot Plant
• Fuel Manufacturing Pilot Plant

References

1. "Developing Techniques for Small- Scale, Indigenous Production of MO-99 Using Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) or Neutron Activation" (PDF). pub.iaea.org. IAEA. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
2. "Radioisotope production plants". INVAP. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
3. Abdel-Aziz, Lamia; Lashin, Reda; Mostafa, Wafaa (2012). "Licensing of digital Instrumentation & Control in Radioisotope Production Facility" (PDF). Arab Journal of Nuclear Science and Applications 45 (4): 285–286. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
4. Salvatore, Marcelo; Amaya, Daniel; Alaniz, Nike; Vindrola, Carlos; Gerbino, Juan (December 2011). "Background and Projects on LEU based production technologies of Molybdenum 99 within INVAP" (PDF). Mo-99 Technology Development. Argonne National Laboratory. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
5. "Radioisotope Production Facility | Facilities | NTI". Nuclear Threat Initiative. James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
6. "Radioisotope production plants". INVAP. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
7. "Nuclear Research Center (NRC)". Federation of American Scientists. Webmaster. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
8. "The Radioisotope Production Facility was inaugurated in Egypt". INVAP. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
9. "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Arab Republic of Egypt" (PDF). globalsecurity.org. International Atomic Energy Agency. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
10. Fitzpatrick, Mark (July 2011). "Nuclear capabilities in the Middle East" (PDF). nonproliferation.eu. EU Non-Proliferation Consortium. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
11. Mukhtar, Hend (29 August 2015). "Egypt launches radioactive isotopes production project". The Cairo Post. Youm7. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
12. Committee on Medical Isotope Production Without Highly Enriched Uranium; Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board; Division on Earth and Life Studies; National Research Council (2009). Medical Isotope Production Without Highly Enriched Uranium. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. p. 110. ISBN 9780309141093. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
13. Abdellatif, Magda; Sirag, Nadia (May 2015). "Proposal Sites for Spent Fuel Disposal in Egypt by Using GIS Program" (PDF). International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology 4 (5): 2725. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
14. Salvatore, Marcelo; Amaya, C. Daniel; Alaniz, Nique; Vindrola, Carlos; José, Juan; Gerbino, Gil (December 2011). "Molybdenum-99 Topical Meeting" (PDF). Santa Fe, New Mexico: Argonne National Laboratory. Retrieved 6 May 2016.