Design & Development of Facility for Production of Active Cs-137 Source Pencils for Blood Irradiator

In India Co-60 is the isotope presently being used for medical applications. It needs frequent replacement because of its short half life (5.27 Years) resulting in multiple handling, transportation and loadingunloading operations. Further, in Indian scenario, production of Co-60 also leads to reactivity losses and in turn revenue losses to the nuclear power reactors. However, Cs-137, the major constituent of the nuclear waste, is a suitable substitute for Co-60 as a radioactive source because of its longer half life (30 yrs). Nuclear Recycle Group has given special emphasis on utilization of Cs-137 for such applications. This will give societal benefits in addition to the revenue generation and will also address issues related to disposal aspects of High Level Radioactive Waste.