International Isotopes said last week it has secured multiple contracts from the U.S. Department of Energy and the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency retrieve and ship disused radioactive sources for storage.
The radiological field services operations will be conducted in the United States and South America and are scheduled for completion by the end of this year, according to an Aug. 9 press release from the Idaho Falls-based company. “All of the contract work will involve performing source removals from inactive radiation therapy devices and shipping these devices to secure locations for storage and disposal,” the release says.
This would prevent the material from being obtained by rogue actors for illicit purposes, such as use in a “dirty bomb” that would use conventional explosives to disperse radiological contamination.
The specific number and value of the contracts were not released, but President and CEO Steve Laflin said in the release the work is expected to boost the company’s radiological services revenue in 2017 by 120 percent from the preceding year.
Along with radiological source removal, International Isotopes provides nuclear medicine calibration and reference standards and radiochemicals for pharmaceutical and research purposes.
