National shortage for molybdenum-99 to be discussed Friday

RICHLAND —  A seminar on “The Molybdenum-99 Crisis: The WSU Approach to Addressing a Critical National Shortage through the WSU Nuclear Radiation Center” will be presented at 12:10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13, at WSU Tri-Cities.
 
This nuclear-related engineering professional development seminar will be led by Donald Wall, director of WSU Pullman’s Nuclear Radiation Center. It starts in the West Building, Room 210, at 2710 University Drive. It also is available by videoconference at WSU Pullman in Murrow 53. Admission to the seminar is free and open to the public.
 
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission operates a 1 megawatt TRIGA nuclear reactor at WSU Pullman — the only research nuclear reactor in the state of Washington and one of a small number of university-based research reactors remaining in the U.S.
 
“About one in three hospital visits in the U.S. include the application of nuclear medicine techniques. Approximately 80 percent of all nuclear medicine procedures utilize Tc-99m, a decay product of Mo-99,” Wall said. “There has recently been a great deal of interest in establishing domestic Mo-99 production facilities to assure a stable and reliable domestic supply.  However, necessary infrastructure is lacking at U.S. nuclear facilities, making the establishment of production capability a time-consuming process.”
 
WSU has taken steps to begin production of Mo-99 and is one of only a small number of U.S. facilities that has the capability of producing substantial quantities of Mo-99 — as well as other radioactive materials for medical applications, Wall said.
 
His presentation on Friday will describe the necessary steps for the production of Mo-99 for medical use, the technical and legal barriers to entry of new production facilities, and the activities that WSU has engaged in to begin production of this material.
 
Wall is a NRC-licensed Senior Reactor Operator and he holds a joint appointment in the WSU Department of Chemistry as an Affiliate Assistant Professor.  Wall earned his Ph.D. at Florida State University in the nuclear chemistry group, working for Professor Gregory Choppin—a co-discoverer of element 101, Mendelevium. 
 
For more information on this and other nuclear engineering seminars, contact seminar coordinator Richard Stout, Ph.D., at rstout2b@charter.net, or 509-528-7023.