Lutetium-177 feasibility study at Argentina's nuclear plants
Framatome and Nucleoeléctrica are to carry out a pre-feasibility study on producing radioisotopes such as lutetium-177 at Argentina's Atucha I, Atucha II and Embalse nuclear power units.
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The year-long study will evaluate the technical and the economic feasibility of producing the medical isotope lutetium-177 from the three units. Argentina already produces cobalt-60 - a radioisotope used for a wide variety of purposes including sterilisation of medical equipment - at Embalse.
Lutetium-177 is a beta-emitting radioisotope used in targeted radionuclide therapy for the treatment of prostate and other cancers, destroying the cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unaffected.
François Gauché, Vice President of Framatome Healthcare, said: "Framatome has been working with Nucleoeléctrica Argentina for decades to support the safe, reliable and sustainable operation of the Atucha I and II and Embalse nuclear reactors. Nuclear technologies play a crucial role in modern healthcare and we are delighted to extend our cooperation with Nucleoeléctrica Argentina through this worthy initiative."
Alberto Lamagna, President of Nucleoeléctrica, said: "This agreement reaffirms our commitment to leveraging the country's nuclear capabilities. We aim to go beyond electricity generation by developing applications that add value to the nuclear industry's production chain."
Framatome's isotope production technology is already used to commercially produce lutetium-177 at a Candu plant in Canada. A similar project is under way in Romania.
Argentina has been ramping up its radioisotope production from its current RA-03 reactor, with lutetium-177 also set to be one of the products when the new RA-10 multipurpose reactor begins operations in 2026 - Argentina says the 30 MWt open pool type reactor will have the capacity to supply about 20% of global demand for radioisotopes.
