ORNL begins implementation of new californium-252 production contract

The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory - home of one of only two reactor facilities in the world capable of producing californium-252 (Cf-252) - has begun implementing a new six-year contract between the DOE Isotope Program and industry to make this unique and versatile radioisotope.

Cf-252 produced at ORNL supplies approximately 70 per cent of global demand for the material

The new contract follows the successful completion of a four-year Cf-252 program under an agreement with a consortium of industries that use the neutron emitting radioisotope for a number of applications that focus mostly on analysis, detection and nuclear energy.

"Californium-252 serves as a unique, portable neutron source," said Julie Ezold, who manages ORNL's Cf-252 production program. "A cross-cut of industries including coal, oil and mineral companies rely on it for critical applications, and it is used in defense and national security applications."

The radioisotope is critical to a number of energy and security related tasks. The coal industry uses Cf-252's neutron emissions to detect impurities in coal; the construction industry performs similar analysis on cement. The oil industry sends the radioisotope down well shafts to determine the well's potential productivity. Cf-252 is also used to calibrate radiation detection instruments including those used in worldwide port security operations. The powerful neutron emitter is also used to start up dormant naval and commercial nuclear reactors.

ORNL's High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) is one of only two reactors in the world with sufficient neutron production, or "flux," to irradiate curium targets to produce Cf-252. The irradiated targets are then processed in the adjoining hot cells at the Radiochemical Engineering and Development Center (REDC).