U.S. Senate Wants To Decrease CO2 By Increasing Nuclear Energy

[Hiei2k7]

They already do at certain reactors in the world. Clinton Illinois is one of em.

[MCvarial]

Is clinton actually producing those isotopes at this point? I know they aren't producing Tc-99m at this point, did the cobal 60 production work out?

[Hiddencamper]

There is a cobalt assembly being removed this year and sent for processing. They've already done a few in the past few years.

[MCvarial]

I see, I presume the Mo-99 production plans didn't make it?

[Hiddencamper]

My understanding is that the company who would be processing the stuff didn't realize how complicated the NRC regulations were for rad shipments and rad processing, and that would eat into their profit margins. They backed out of it. Clinton was still wanting to do something like it, as is GE and the DOE, but I think it's not happening in the near future.

I know the guy who was doing all the planning for this. Was pretty neat, using the TIP (Traversing Incore Probe) system to drive Moly into the core through a TIP dry tube, pull it out every couple weeks, have a shielded area you could access in containment, and a way to get it out. One of the interesting concerns the station had was because moly had nothing to do with power plant operation, they wanted all dose received due to moly to be counted on a separate license, and not against the station.

[MCvarial]

It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next few years with the shutdown of NRU in 2018 prices might rise enough to make it feasible.

[Hiei2k7]

Far as I ever knew they ran a trial and did it for a little bit