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24/03/2022

Thanks to the isotopes produced at the Leningrad NPP, 300,000 medical diagnostic procedures and examinations will be performed

The Leningrad NPP (a branch of Rosenergoatom, part of the Electric Power Division of Rosatom) has exceeded the 2021 plan for the production of isotopes, including meeting the needs of the industry with doped silicon. Isotopes of the Leningrad nuclear power plant include cobalt-60, iodine-125, molybdenum-99 and iodine-131 and are used in industry and medicine in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. For all positions, 2021 was completed with the fulfillment of planned targets.

"We have fulfilled the plan for cobalt-60 by 129%. LNPP produces up to 15% of the world's need for this isotope, - said Vladimir Pereguda., LNPP director. - Industrial sources of ionizing radiation based on cobalt-60 are designed for sterilization and disinfection of food products and medical instruments and materials, stimulation of growth and productivity of grain and vegetable crops, disinfection and purification of industrial effluents, solid and liquid wastes of various types of industries, refining and hardening of wood and glass products. Cobalt-60 is produced artificially by loading cobalt absorbers into a reactor plant. The process of their irradiation takes 5 years. The production of the isotope is performed exclusively at the RBMK units and has been carried out at the Leningrad NPP for more than 20 years.

"Following the Leningrad NPP, the isotope production technology began to be tested at the Kursk and Smolensk NPPs," said Vladimir Pereguda. "Today we hope to extend the period of production of isotopes, which are so necessary for the national economy and medicine, for another 5 years. Now the leadership of Rosatom is considering the possibility of extending the operation of power unit No. 3 and No. 4 of the Leningrad NPP with RBMK-1000 reactors until 2030."

The iodine-131 isotope, necessary for the production of radiopharmaceuticals, was supplied by the nuclear power plant to customers for radiochemical processing in an amount sufficient for more than 300,000 oncologic procedures. As for the diagnostic isotope - molybdenum-99 (technetium-99m), the produced activity of 3120 GBq delivered to hospitals in St. Petersburg will be enough for 5,000 examinations. The most important direction is the supply of doped silicon to the industry. LNPP fully completed its deliveries in 2021, 900 kg of the most important material was sent to enterprises, which is used in high-precision integrated circuits, for aircraft construction, space, and military equipment.

Today the development of radiation technologies is one of the strategic goals of Rosatom. The market for the development of such technologies in the future is estimated by business experts to be comparable to the nuclear energy market: these are modern diagnostics in medicine, transport security systems, new water and air purification facilities, microelectronics, light industry, metallurgy and many other spheres.

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