Deputy General Director of Rosatom State Corporation Yevgeny Yevstratov who conducted the meeting noted that the principal participants of the project — JSC “SSC RIAR” and Izotop OJSC — had fulfilled all the works in full. The project administration mentioned a high degree of hazard operability at molybdenum-99 production.
Works to be performed at the second stage of the project were also discussed. By the beginning of May RIAR, with commercial batches of molybdenum-99 delivered, is going to be up and running at full capacity of production (up to 800–900 Ci per week).
The second stage of the project to be completed in 2012 also provides for construction of additional production facilities which will allow to increase capacity up to 2,500 Ci per week.
According to the project of the Presidential Commission on Modernization of the Russian Economy, Rosatom State Corporation implements the project of creation of molibden-99 preparation at JSC “SSC RIAR”. The project entered its active phase in the middle of 2010, and on December 18 there was startup of the first stage of production. The total cost of the project is about 1 bln rubles.
On December 18, 2010 there was a trial delivery of molybdenum-99 from RIAR to Rosatom’s strategic partner, Canadian Nordion. Ye.Yevstratov said that Nordion had formally confirmed full; quality conformance of the product to the technical specification to the contract.
Molybdenum-99 is used for production of technetium-99. It serves as the basis for production of a wide range of radiopharmaceuticals for detecting and treatment of oncological, cardiovascular and other diseases. The medical science uses the unique properties of the isotope — mild effect on the body together with the opportunity of detecting a disease at the earliest stage. Now about 30 mln of such procedures per year are performed in the world