Workshop on
The Nation’s Needs for Isotopes:
Present and Future
August 5-7, 2008
Hilton Hotel, Rockville, MD
Sponsored by the Department of Energy
Office of Science for Nuclear Physics and Office of Nuclear Energy
Working
Group Summaries:
Stable and Enriched Isotopes/Radioisotopes
for Research and Development/Radioisotopes
for Applications -
Table
Working Group Presentations
Workshop Report
For over 50 years the DOE and its predecessors have
been at the forefront of the development and production of stable and
radioactive isotope products that are used worldwide.
Hundreds of applications in medicine,
industry, national security and research depend on isotopes as vital components.
The Department of Energy’s FY 2009 Congressional Budget Request proposes to
transfer the DOE Isotope Program from the Office of Nuclear Energy to the Office
of Science’s (SC) Office of Nuclear Physics (NP).
The purpose of this workshop is to bring together
stakeholders (users and producers) from the different communities and
disciplines (including medical, basic research, environmental, industrial,
national security, defense) to discuss the Nation’s current and future needs for
stable and radioactive isotopes, and options for improving the availability of
needed isotopes.
Such questions as: Who uses isotopes and why?
Who produces them and where? What is the status of the supply and what is
missing? What are the needs today and in the future? What are the options for
increasing availability and associated technical hurdles? The deliverable will
be a report which articulates the Nation’s needs for isotopes across the various
disciplines, the challenges in meeting those needs and options for improving the
capabilities for meeting the demands. A questionnaire will be circulated to the
Workshop participants to accumulate relevant information of interest to the
goals of the Workshop.
The workshop is a 2 ½ day meeting in Rockville,
Maryland, in the suburbs of Washington D.C. Following a plenary session on the
first day, the remaining time will be devoted to individual working groups
meeting in parallel sessions. Three Working Groups will be established: Stable
and Enriched Isotopes, Radioisotopes for
Research and Development, and Radioisotopes for
Applications. Participation in the
Working Groups is through invitation only with selection determined in
consultation with relevant organizations. The plenary session on the first day,
however, will be able to accommodate additional interested attendees. Due to
limited space, however, those interested in attending the plenary session that
are not a member of a Working Group are asked to
register via email.
A poster
session will be held in the evening of the first
day, which will be open to all participants of
the Workshop, including the attendees of the
plenary session. The poster session will offer
the opportunity for participants from all
communities to describe their interests related
to stable and radioactive isotopes.. Those interested in presenting a poster should
see the information below
February 4, 2008 :: Notice: The
Department of Energy announces in its FY 2009
Congressional Budget Request the intent to
transfer the DOE Isotope Program from the Office
of Nuclear Energy to the Office of Science’s
(SC) Office of Nuclear Physics (NP). Subject to
Congressional Appropriation, under the NP
program, the Isotope Program would be entitled
“Isotope Production and Applications”.
The focus of the Isotope Production and
Applications program will be on supporting the
research, development, and production of stable
and radioactive isotopes, and making them more
readily available to respond to the needs of the
Nation, including an initiative aimed at the
research, development and production of research
isotopes. NP plans to work with the SC Office of
Biological and Environmental Research, the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the
scientific community in considering the findings
and recommendations of the
jointly sponsored NIH and DOE study by the
National Academy of Sciences entitled the
“State of the Science of Nuclear Medicine”
issued in September 2007, as part
of the process for identifying research and
isotope production priorities.
The Department recognizes that radioisotopes are
high-priority commodities that are essential for
successful energy, medical and national security
applications and outcomes. During this
transition period, the Department will continue
production of its current portfolio of isotope
products and related services for both
commercial and research customers, and will
continue isotope deliveries as scheduled in any
existing contractual arrangements.
The NP program has the expertise and a strong
history in operating facilities and developing
technologies that are relevant to the production
of stable and radioactive isotopes. Details
about the Nuclear Physics Program can be found
at
http://www.sc.doe.gov/np/ and about the
existing DOE Isotope Program within the Office
of Nuclear Energy at
http://www.ne.doe.gov/isotopes/neIsotopes2a.html. |