The challenges of managing radioactive waste from the production of Molybdenum-99 in Indonesia

In Indonesia, 99Mo radioisotopes were produced by a state-owned company, PT. INUKI, in Serpong nuclear area. Molybdenum-99 is produced through the fission reaction of irradiated uranium targets in the GA Siwabessy reactor. Extraction of 99Mo was carried out by the Cintichem process. In the production of 99Mo, several types of waste will be generated, one of which is Radioactive Fission Waste that should receive serious attention because it contains 235U residual, activation elements, actinide, and fission products which have high radiation exposure, and it is not easy to characterize in the laboratory. In 2010, there was a conversion of the uranium target from high enrich (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU), and in consequence, there were actinides such as plutonium in waste with a more significant amount, as well as need uranium target in greater amounts. Until now, the waste from 99Mo production is still in the hot cell, disrupting the following production process. There are challenges faced by PT. INUKI and BRIN in improving radioisotope production at PT. INUKI. The challenge faced by PT INUKI is to immediately empty the hot-cell by transferring all of its waste to the BRIN radioactive waste treatment facility, so that the hot-cell can be used as a place to produce radioisotope well. To empty the hot-cell, a budget is needed, both for the cost of processing the waste at BRIN and the cost of revamping the facilities to support the safe emptying of waste in the hot-cell and the safety of radioisotope production. Besides that, it is also a challenge that the current human resources also need special training and may need to hire professionals in the decontamination and safety fields and all of these require budget availability. Therefore the best way to resolve this challenge is using the Government subsidy scheme, the reason to meet the urgent demand for 99Mo in various hospitals in Indonesia and being able to export to other countries. The challenge for BRIN is immediately deal with the waste they have never managed and must prepare the facilities and infrastructure for waste that activities and toxicity are higher than they have managed. For BRIN, which has the task of managing radioactive waste from all over Indonesia, the budget may not be a problem.