On May 9th, Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute announced that during the May Day holiday, the domestic first commercial reactor isotope online irradiation production facility jointly developed by Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute and Qinshan Nuclear Power was successfully installed. This marks a significant breakthrough for the company in the field of heavy water reactor isotope production.
This irradiation facility, a global first in design, features high reliability, full shielding throughout the process, flexibility in production, high output, and the ability to remotely automate the loading, unloading, and transfer of isotope targets. It enables the flexible production of various short-lived isotopes without affecting the operation of the reactor, meeting the market demand for domestically scarce medical isotopes such as strontium-89, yttrium-90, and lutetium-177.
The project team went through multiple rounds of iterations to finalize the overall solution, tackling key technical challenges in device structure, reactor interfaces, control monitoring, safety assessment, manufacturing processes, installation, and commissioning. Through innovative attempts with the prototype, comprehensive testing with the engineering prototype, detailed verification of engineering design, and strict control over equipment manufacturing, they successfully resolved these challenges one by one over a period of three years.
During the major overhaul of the Qinshan Phase III nuclear power plant, the project's core team worked continuously on-site for over 20 days, overcoming pressure and various obstacles to successfully complete the installation of the irradiation facility.
The completion of this project not only opens the door to large-scale production of medical isotopes in domestic commercial reactors but also addresses the issue of high-cost imports of various medical isotopes, laying a solid foundation for mass production of medical isotopes and promoting the development of radiopharmaceuticals, thus safeguarding and further enhancing the nation's health standards.
