Cyclic irradiation method for production of radioisotope tracers using a low power research reactor

Abstract

Cyclic Irradiation Method (CIM) involving repeated irradiation of samples at regular time intervals to build up activity has been adopted for the production of ⁸² Br, ⁷² Ga, ¹⁴⁰La, ²⁴ Na and ⁴⁶ Sc isotopes using the low power Ghana Research Reactor-1. The results indicate that the specific activities of radioisotopes from NH₄Br, Ga₂O₃, La₂O₃, Na₂CO₃ and Sc₂O₃ targets increased with the number of irradiation as predicted by the theoretical calculations. Hence, the CIM could be used for radioisotope production in low power research reactors where due to limited excess core reactivity; the activities of radioisotopes produced through a single irradiation may be low for tracer applications.


Journal of Applied Science and Technology (JAST), Vol. 7, Nos. 1 & 2, 2002, pp. 20 – 26