 .jpeg)
The work is being done under a project carried out by nuclear utility Rosenergoatom - “Organisation of the production of Co-60 at RBMK-type reactors”, which is part of Rosatom’s isotope business strategy and a wider industry program me for the development of nuclear medicine and technology,” explained Vyacheslav Fedyukin, director of the Kursk NPP on 26 May. “We use the unique ability of channel power reactors, alongside power generation, to produce radiation sources that can be used in medicine, agriculture and many industries.”
The process of loading the SDPKs is no different from loading standard additional absorbers with boron carbide. Each additional cobalt absorber includes 1152 nickel-plated natural cobalt-59 tablets. After five years of irradiation this becomes cobalt-60.
“In 2018, we loaded the first cobalt absorber at unit 4 of the Kursk NPP. Since that time, the team of the Kursk station has gained a lot of experience, confirming the safety and reliability of the work. The project proved to be exceptionally positive,” said Nikolai Kushkovoy, Head of the Radiation Technology Department. Cobalt-60 is in high demand in the Russian and world markets. Contracts are already in place for all of the Co-60 planned for production at Kursk 3 for the entire period of operation of the power unit. “There is still a lot of work ahead to prepare for the unloading and handling of irradiated cobalt-60 in five years,” Kushkovoy noted.
Image: The first rod with an additional cobalt absorber (SDPK) containing starting material for the production of cobalt-60 (Co-60) has been loaded into the RBMK reactor at unit 3 of Russia’s Kursk NPP (Source: Kursk NPP)
