A New Reactor Platform for Cobalt-60 Production
Richard Wiens1, Eddie Saab2, Kris Paserba3.
1Nordion (Canada) Inc., Ottawa, ON, Canada; 2Westinghouse Electric Canada, Inc., Toronto, ON, Canada; 3Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, Cranberry Township, PA, United States
Cobalt-60 is a life-saving isotope responsible for sterilizing approximately 40% of the world’s single-use medical devices, including syringes, gloves, implants and surgical instruments. It is also used to treat a variety of food and consumer products for the reduction of harmful pathogens. Currently, almost all of the world’s Cobalt-60 is produced in CANDU Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) and RBMK Light Water Graphite-moderated Reactors (LWGRs). There are a limited number of these reactors available, and increasing global demand has led to a search for other reactor platforms capable of efficient and economical production of Cobalt-60. Of the roughly 440 commercial nuclear reactors operating today, more than 300 are Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs), making this design a natural area of focus. Westinghouse Electric Company (Westinghouse) has partnered with Nordion to develop technologies and processes that would allow for large-scale production of Cobalt-60 in PWRs, leveraging Nordion’s intellectual property and experience in target design and Westinghouse’s advanced fuel technology and broad market access. This presentation will describe key differences between Cobalt-60 production in PWRs and production in PHWRs and LWGRs, identify some of the engineering and physics challenges associated with the project, and provide an update on utility engagement and implementation.