Radioisotope Production

The primary mission of the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) Radioisotope Research and Production Program is to prepare certain commercially unavailable radioisotopes to distribute to the nuclear medicine community and industry, and to perform research to develop new radioisotopes desired by nuclear medicine investigators. In conjunction with this mission, the group also performs service irradiations, sells by-products and explores opportunities for new products and radioisotope applications as needed.

The Brookhaven Linac Isotope Producer (BLIP) consists of a linear accelerator, beam line and target area to deliver protons up to 200 MeV energy and 115 µA intensity for isotope production. It generally operates parasitically with the BNL nuclear physics program. The accelerator operating period in 2009 is scheduled from January 12 – June 29, 2009. The availability of longer lived radioisotopes (i.e., Be-7, Ge-68, Zn-65, Tc-95m) extends well beyond the BLIP operating period. The High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) at BNL was also utilized for radioisotope production. However, the reactor was permanently closed in 1999 and reactor isotopes are no longer available from BNL.

The DOE Isotope Program has centralized all business and service activities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The Isotope Business Office, a part of the National Isotope Data Center there, will issue quotations, accept orders, schedule shipments, invoice and collect payments. Therefore, please inquire, for price, detailed schedule, and ordering information at:

Isotope Business Office
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
P.O. Box 2009, Building 7606A
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6426
Phone: (865)574-6984
Fax: (865) 574-0986
Email: isotopes@ornl.gov
Website: http://www.ornl.gov/isotopes/catalog.htm

The BNL Isotope Program is capable of producing the radioisotopes listed below. The research offerings are subject to the DOE review process described above and may not be available every year. Rental of hot cell space as well as irradiations not requiring chemical separation may also be accommodated. Some isotopes not scheduled for production at BNL in 2009 may be available from Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The current DOE list of research isotopes is published at the ORNL website listed above. Orders for these isotopes must be placed at least two months in advance of production.  For more information contact the Isotope Business Office at the address above.  

 For technical information on BNL isotope products contact us directly at:

Isotope Distribution Office
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Building 801
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000
Phone: (631) 344-2212
FAX: (631) 344-5962
E-mail: isotopes@bnl.gov
Website: http://www.bnl.gov/medical/Isotope_Distribution/Isodistoff.htm

Last updated 05/21/09