The Market Impacts of Converting to Low-Enriched Uranium Targets for Medical Isotope Production

摘要

The NEA study, developed in collaboration with experts from the supply chain and with the HLG-MR, demonstrates the expected capacity and cost impacts of converting to using LEU targets for the production of ~(99)Mo. The finding show that LEU-target conversion will have an impact on capacity, but will not be the major factor that produces long-term shortages; the main concern is the continued economic situation in the ~(99)Mo/~(99m)Tc supply chain that is unsustainable for any investment, including LEU-based investment. As a result, full-cost recovery is a necessary (but insufficient) condition for long-term supply reliability and LEU-target conversion.