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Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson today announced a joint project with Tennessee State University that will provide U.S. researchers with a reliable supply of stable, non-radioactive isotopes. Stable isotopes are special materials essential for a wide range of advanced research, including medical science, earth science, and many areas of physics and chemistry.

"This partnership will put Tennessee State at the center of a critical part of the nation's science and technology infrastructure and provide its students access to equipment available at no other university," said Secretary Richardson. "It enables the Energy Department to serve the U.S. research community in smarter, more cost-effective ways while also providing students with unique technological opportunities that will help them to become the next generation of scientists."

Use of stable isotopes is on the increase in the United States. Stable isotopes are invaluable in a wide array of scientific analyses, particularly for high-accuracy mass spectrometry. They are used in nutritional studies and also as feed materials to produce vital medical isotopes that are used 600,000 times each year in the U.S. for diagnosing heart ailments, cancer, and other illnesses.

Until recently, the Department of Energy (DOE) provided stable isotopes to researchers and industry at its Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and used Manhattan Project-era machines called calutrons to manufacture them. Industrial customers are now being served by overseas suppliers, leaving the existing U.S. capacity too large and too expensive for the needs of researchers. After a search for an industrial partner to operate the calutrons proved unsuccessful, DOE decided to mothball the calutrons and design a new, more cost-effective production facility. The existing machines were too large and inefficient to produce small quantities of the large variety of isotopes needed for research.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory will apply its expertise in the production of stable isotopes to assure that the new facility is installed and operated in a manner that best suits the varied needs of the U.S. research community. The new facility could be operational in approximately two years.

Tennessee State University will provide infrastructure support for the facility and work with the Energy Department to establish new educational programs for students at the university and other institutions in the region. In addition to providing its technical expertise to support the operation of the new facility, Oak Ridge National Laboratory will work closely with Tennessee State to develop a joint educational agenda in stable isotopes research.

- DOE -