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Stable Isotopes

Urenco Isotopes is based at our site in Almelo, the Netherlands. Here we use the same technology that we use to enrich uranium to enrich or deplete other isotopes that are widely used across medical, industrial and research industries.

What is an Isotope?

An isotope is a variation of an element that has the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons. They share almost the same chemical properties, but differ in mass and therefore in physical properties. An isotope is named after the element and the number of neutrons. For example, carbon-12 is an isotope of carbon with a mass number of 12.

Isotopes can either be stable or unstable. Due to their unique properties, stable isotopes are used in a variety of applications, including medical diagnosis, semiconductor production for electronic devices and research on materials used in nuclear environments.

How do we enrich and deplete isotopes?

We use same centrifuge technology we use to enrich uranium.

First we transform isotopes into their gaseous form. We then feed the gas into our centrifuges, which spin the gas at very high speeds. This spinning motion separates the gas molecules, with heavier isotopes pushed to the wall of the centrifuge, while lighter isotopes are concentrated closer to the centre. The gas is extracted from the centrifuge by a set of gas extraction scoops; the heavy isotope scoop is located near the centrifuge wall, whereas the light isotope scoop is placed closer to the centre.

What are our isotopes used for?

Medical

We produce isotopes that can be used across many medical applications. Today we supply isotopes that support two million patient treatments every year.

Diagnostics

Nuclear diagnostic imaging techniques enable doctors around the world to identify diseases at an early stage, track disease progression, allow for accurate disease staging and provide predictive information about the likely success of alternative therapy options.

One of the important diagnostic techniques is gamma imaging. Nuclear medicine departments worldwide use gamma cameras to detect diseases of various organs including the heart, brain, bone, lung and thyroid. Positron emission tomography, an imaging test that can help reveal the metabolic or biochemical function of tissue and organs also requires the supply of isotopes.

Therapy

Radioisotopes are also used extensively for therapeutic purposes. Brachytherapy is the procedure of using temporary irradiation very close to the area of disease, in particular for cancer and stenosis. Another example of brachytherapy is the use of radioactive sources ('seeds') in tumours, particularly in prostate cancer. A significant percentage of patients diagnosed with this disease are treated with these radioactive seeds.

Pain relief

Palliative care of pain arising from the spread of breast, prostate and lung cancers is under development. A number of radioisotopes are already being used on a regular basis, while the potential of other isotopes is being investigated.

Industry

Urenco Stable Isotopes is continuously developing products for industrial use within the nuclear, non-destructive testing and semiconductor industries.

Nuclear industry

The addition of zinc reduces the buildup of radiation in the cooling systems of nuclear reacotrs, therefore reducing the dosage rates that maintenance personelle experience. Zinc also greatly reduces corrosion processes in the construction materials of the reactor, including stress corrosion cracking.

One of the important diagnostic techniques is gamma imaging. Nuclear medicine departments worldwide use gamma cameras to detect diseases of various organs including the heart, brain, bone, lung and thyroid. Positron emission tomography, an imaging test that can help reveal the metabolic or biochemical function of tissue and organs also requires the supply of isotopes.

Non-destructive testing

Non-destructive testing uses isotopes to examine materials without damaging them. This technique is called radiography and can reveal internal features and imperfections that are difficult to see with the naked eye.

Semiconductor production

Silicon is known for its widespread use in the semiconductor industry. In the race to build quantum computers—machines that should offer immense processing power by exploiting quantum mechanics – silicon isotopes are used in various R&D projects.

Research

Our stable isotopes are used for several research applications, including food absorption studies, material research and nuclear physics.

Food uptake studies

A significant amount of research is done into the diet of children living in poor and underdeveloped areas. These children's diet often lacks the right amounts of essential elements such as zinc, iron, calcium and magnesium. Studies are performed to verify if and how these essential elements are absorbed by the body and where they can be found inside the body. These food uptake studies regularly use our zinc isotopes.

Material research

Materials used in nuclear environments are subjected to harsh conditions which decrease their lifetime. By changing the composition of isotopes in the materials, the lifetime of the materials can be increased, thereby reducing radioactive waste.

Nuclear physics

Stable isotopes are used extensively in nuclear physics research, such as for the creation of super-heavy elements and the use of enriched stable isotopes for neutrino research. Enriched isotopes that we produce are often incorporated into detectors which are used for investigating the characteristics of neutrinos.