The material was produced at the Safari-1 reactor located at the Pelindaba research center. Safari-1 is a light-water "tank-in-pool" reactor that operated at power level of 20MW. The design is similar to that of the ORR reactor in Oak Ridge. Safari-1 historically used HEU fuel with enrichment of 90% and 45%. Mo-99 production traditionally involved irradiation of targets that contain HEU with enrichment of 45%.
UPDATE 09/13/10: The Safari-1 reactor was converted to LEU fuel in June 2009. The operators also completed conversion of targets and radiochemical processes to LEU and are awaiting final approval from medical regulators. The U.S. shipment is apparently part of this approval process.
Shaun
Statement issued by The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) and NTP Radioisotopes (Pty) Ltd Date: 27 October 2010
NECSA CONSORTIUM WINS UNITED STATES RADIOISOTOPES CONTRACT
Pretoria, South Africa) -- The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), and its subsidiary NTP Radioisotopes, have won an award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). This award to Necsa is worth up to US$25 million, is based on the successful commercial scale production of the medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) using low enriched uranium (LEU) targets, and will be performed in collaboration with ANSTO of Australia. This significant achievement has demonstrated that South Africa has successfully implemented the world’s first large scale, all LEU production of this critical medical isotope. ANSTO will assist in providing valuable capacity in a South Africa – Australia joint venture. “NNSA’s Global Threat Reduction Initiative works with our partners around the world to minimize the use of highly enriched uranium in civilian nuclear applications,” said Ken Baker, NNSA’s Principal Assistant Deputy Administrator of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation. “This award is part of NNSA’s commitment to developing a sustainable means of producing Mo-99 as part of a global supply network that avoids a single point of failure and does not use HEU.” Necsa’s CEO Rob Adam said that this award was the culmination of many years of painstaking research and development. ANSTO’s Dr Adi Paterson said that the award vindicated the investment by Australia in the Opal Research Reactor. The award comes against the backdrop of an international supply crisis in Mo-99, as well as the highly enriched uranium minimization strategies discussed in the April 2010 Washington Global Nuclear Security Summit. The Summit Workplan, which was endorsed by all 47 Heads of State of participating countries, states that: “Participating States, as appropriate, will collaborate to research and develop new technologies that require neither highly enriched uranium fuels for reactor operation nor highly enriched uranium targets for producing medical or other isotopes, and will encourage the use of low enriched uranium and other proliferation-resistant technologies and fuels in various commercial applications such as isotope production.”