DOE gives INL $100,000

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IDAHO FALLS - With the installation of a shuttle irradiation system in the Idaho National Laboratory's Advanced Test Reactor still on schedule for a Sept. 30 completion, the U.S. Department of Energy allocated additional funds to aid the INL in determining the cost to prospective users of the shuttle, the INL announced Tuesday.

The DOE is providing the INL with $100,000 to be used partially to fund the research it takes to estimate the cost for a company to use the shuttle irradiation system and to review and implement any modifications of the shuttle that may be needed for that individual use, said John Snyder, INL's nuclear medicine project manager.

''Some of the funds will be used to explore the idea of adding dedicated medical isotope processing capabilities at INL, which, if implemented, could reduce a customer's net cost,'' Snyder said.

The shuttle irradiation system allows for the placement of materials into the INL's Advanced Test Reactor without shutting down the reactor. Battelle Energy Alliance, which operates the INL, planned to install the shuttle in 2010, but a $2 million loan from the state allowed for the early installation.

The need to push forward the installation arose in 2006 when Richland, Wash.-based IsoRay Medical, a manufacturer of radioactive isotopes used in treating prostate cancer, indicated it wanted to establish operations in Pocatello and use the INL's Advanced Test Reactor to create the Cesium-131 used in its cancer treatment.

Without the shuttle, creating the Cesium-131 at the INL could be cost prohibitive. The shuttle also will enhance the quality of the short-lived isotope.

DOE's Idaho Manager Elizabeth Sellers said the funds allocated to the INL will mean that the shuttle's services will be more readily available to customers once its installation is complete.

''Customers need to know these costs,'' she said.

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