The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a plan by PSEG Nuclear to produce Cobalt-60 at its Hope Creek generating station on Artificial Island here, officials announced this morning.
Cobalt-60 is a radioisotope used in cancer treatments and for sterilizing foods and medical devices. PSEG Nuclear will produce Cobalt-60 in partnership with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy.
Hope Creek becomes only the second of the nation’s 104 operating reactors allowed to produce Cobalt-60. The NRC granted approval earlier this year to Exelon Nuclear’s Clinton Power Station in Illinois to produce Cobalt-60.
Allowing the pilot program to produce the Cobalt-60 required an amendment to Hope Creek’s operating license by the NRC.
The amended license allows PSEG to alter the reactor’s core by inserting up to 12 modified fuel assemblies containing rods filled with Cobalt-59, which would absorb neutrons during reactor operation and become Cobalt-60.
PSEG’s pilot program will gather data to verify that the modified fuel assemblies perform satisfactorily in service prior to use on a production basis, the NRC said. PSEG plans to insert the modified assemblies during Hope Creek’s planned fall 2010 refueling outage, according to a release issued by the NRC this morning.
The NRC staff approved the amendment after evaluating the potential effects of the modified fuel assemblies on plant operation and accident scenarios. The staff concluded the modified core will continue to meet the agency’s safety requirements.
The project was created in response to a recognized critical shortage of radioisotopes around the world. Radioisotopes are currently produced in a limited number of advanced test reactor facilities leading to limited supplies that often fall below critical levels, according to PSEG Nuclear.
At the same time, there is a growing demand for Cobalt-60 as applications for this material are expanding at a rapid rate. The radioisotope is primarily used in the nuclear medicine field to support non-invasive gamma cancer treatments such as gamma knife. The gamma knife procedure represents the standard of care for treating brain tumors using Cobalt-60 sources while minimizing dose to healthy brain tissues, the utility said.
The modified fuel assemblies are scheduled for reactor insertion during Hope Creek’s next refueling outage scheduled for this fall. After several fuel cycles in the reactor, the rods containing the Cobalt- 60 will be removed from their host bundles and sent off-site to a GE Hitachi facility. The radioisotope targets will be extracted there and sealed for downstream production.
NRC officials earlier this year said during the pilot program they will carefully watch initial production to be sure it does not impact plant operations.
The financial arrangements between PSEG Nuclear and GE Hitachi for producing the Cobalt-60 were not made public.
PSEG officials earlier this year would only say the production of Cobalt-60 would produce a “revenue stream” for the utility.
Hope Creek is one of three nuclear reactors operated by PSEG Nuclear at Artificial Island. Hope Creek and its neighboring Salem 1 and Salem 2 comprise the second largest commercial nuclear complex in the U.S.
PSEG Nuclear has applied to the NRC for 20-year extensions to each of the three plant’s current 40-year operating licenses.
The company has also submitted an Early Site Permit application to federal authorities as it explores the possibility of building a fourth nuclear reactor at the Island.
New Jersey