Society News Archive

3 March 2015
New IAEA Reports

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has published three new reports that are available for free download on the IAEA website.

Schedules of Provisions of the IAEA Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material, 2012 Edition, IAEA Safety Standards Series No. SSG-33

This safety guide aims to aid users of radioactive material and regulators by providing a listing of relevant requirements of the regulations (IAEA Safety Standards Series No. SSR 6) as applicable to the type of radioactive material, package, or shipment. Once a consignor has properly classified the radioactive material to be shipped (following the recommendations provided in Section 2 and Fig. 1 of the safety guide), the appropriate United Nations (UN) number can be assigned and the paragraph numbers of specific requirements for shipment can be found in the corresponding schedule.

Yttrium-90 and Rhenium-188 Radiopharmaceuticals for Radionuclide Therapy, IAEA Radioisotopes and Radiopharmaceuticals Series No. 5

A key requirement for the effective implementation of the therapeutic approach, based on the intravenous administration of radiolabelled compounds (radionuclide therapy), is the sufficient availability of radionuclides with appropriate physical characteristics. Based on their nuclear properties, 188Re and 90Y are considered among the most interesting radionuclides for therapy. Furthermore, they are produced through portable generators, which provide a crucial advantage toward ensuring a worldwide distribution of these radionuclides.

This publication illustrates recent studies aimed at investigating efficient quality-control methods to ensure both the radionuclidic purity of generator eluates and the proper preparation of new target-specific 188Re and 90Y radiopharmaceuticals for various clinical applications.

Feasibility of Producing Molybdenum-99 on a Small Scale Using Fission of Low Enriched Uranium or Neutron Activation of Natural Molybdenum, Technical Reports Series No. 478

This publication documents the work performed within the IAEA-coordinated research project (CRP) on developing techniques for small-scale indigenous 99Mo production using low enriched uranium (LEU) fission or neutron activation. The CRP enabled participating institutions to gain the knowledge necessary for indigenous 99Mo production. The outcome serves to capture the steps participants undertook in examining the feasibility of becoming small-scale 99Mo producers.

Most participants carried out work related to the entire production process, from target assembly through irradiation, planning for target disassembly in hot cells, chemical processing of targets, quality-control practices, and managing waste streams. Some participants focused on one particular area, for example, testing new methods for production of LEU foil for targets and the production of gel generators from 99Mo solution. The publication aggregates all of the work undertaken as part of the CRP in order to present the results as a whole.