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        I have blogged before about the importance of the molybdenum-99 radioisotope. This radioisotope is used to produce technetium-99m for about four fifths of nuclear imaging procedures for disease diagnosis. Mo-99 is produced primarily in research reactors and, since it has a half life of sixty-six hours, it cannot be stockpiled. Most of the world’s current supply of Mo-99 comes from just four reactors in Belgium, the Netherlands, Russia and South Africa.
        The security of the Mo-99 supply is precarious because unexpected shutdowns of any one of the four producing reactors can result in major shortages of this critical radioisotope. In addition, most Mo-99 is produced by irradiating targets made of highly enriched uranium (HEU) which, by definition, means that the targets have twenty percent or more of U-235 which is highly radioactive. With enrichment at this level, there is a danger of nuclear proliferation.
       Mo-99 is used in more than forty thousand procedures in the U.S. every day. However, the U.S. does not currently produce any Mo-99 and must import it. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) has been working with commercial partners since 2009 to create a domestic Mo-99 supply network. They hope to make use of a variety of supply options that do not depend on HEU. Last year, the NNSA announced a new funding opportunity for the production of Mo-99 without HEU.
       Yesterday, the DoE reported that the NNSA has completed its analysis of the applications submitted for the new funding. An independent review panel provided recommendations to the NNSA. Four companies have been selected to move to the next stage of the selection process to potentially receive cooperative agreement awards. The four companies are Niowave Inc, NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes LLC, Northwest Medical Isotopes (NWMI) and Shine Medical Isotopes. Funds have been allocated by Congress to provide up to fifteen million dollars for each of these companies with industry partners matching any government award.
       Niowave is located in Lansing, Michigan. They are working on the use of superconducting electron linear accelerators for the production of medical radioisotoes such as Mo-99.
       NorthStar is located in Beloit, Wisconsin. They are working on two different processes for the production of Mo-99 without HEU. The first process being developed relies on the Missouri University Research Reactor to irradiate Mo-98 targets to produce Mo-99. The second process will utilize a linear accelerator to produce Mo-99.
        NWMI is located in Corvallis, Oregon. They have obtained technology from Oregon State University for new low-enriched uranium (LEU) to use in Triga research reactors. They have notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of their intent to submit an application for the construction of a facility that would produce the LEU targets. The targets would then be shipped to a network of university research reactors where they would be irradiated. The irradiated targets would then be shipped back to the NWMI facility to be processed to recover the Mo-99.
      Shine is located Janesville, Wisconsin where they are building a facility. They will produce medical radioisotopes including Mo-99 at the facility. Their process uses a low-energy, accelerator-based neutron source to produce fission on a LEU target dissolved in an aqueous solution.
       Rick Perry is the U.S. Secretary of Energy. He said, “Mo-99 is such a critical toll in healthcare. Doctors count on it every day. This industry outreach helps to develop a reliable domestic supply of a vital medical isotope, reduce dependence on foreign imports, and bring new opportunity to the heartland.”