WASHINGTON, DC -- As part of an initiative to clean up Cold War legacy sites, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced today that it will accept proposals from private companies to provide a large-scale, long-term source of medical isotopes that have shown tremendous promise in the treatment of deadly cancers. DOE's initiative will increase the supply of these medical isotopes by 5,000 percent. The initial award of this phased contract is anticipated in spring 2003. This Request for Proposal, No. DE-RP05-00OR22860 is available at www.nuclear.gov.

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory stores uranium, containing uranium-233, that was originally produced at DOE's nuclear defense production plants. This material is stored at a laboratory facility that dates back to the Manhattan Project and that requires expensive environmental, criticality and security controls. The project announced today, integrated with the building cleanup and deactivation work, will also enable the extraction of valuable medical isotopes as the material is stabilized. The department has used this material to provide modest quantities of bismuth-213 for the past five years.

Bismuth-213 is a decay product of uranium-233 that is being used in cancer treatment research, such as the human clinical trials for the treatment of acute myologenous leukemia. Bismuth-213 is also being explored in the treatment of cancer of the lungs, pancreas and kidneys. The isotope is bound to monoclonal antibodies that attack the cancer while minimizing the impact on surrounding tissues.

"DOE has an important responsibility to clean up the dangerous materials and old contaminated structures left over from the Cold War," Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said. "That we can fulfill this mission while producing valuable new tools in the fight against cancer is an exciting and unique opportunity."

For over 50 years, the department has led the development of isotopes for medical diagnosis and treatment and for industrial uses -- this was possible because of the expertise and infrastructure that emerged from its core national security missions. Today, DOE provides isotopes to the medical research community, in support of other federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and others, by making its facilities and expertise available so that therapeutics can be developed to control or defeat serious illnesses, such as leukemia and other cancers.

Each year, 600 deliveries of over 215 types of isotopes are made to over 300 domestic and international customers—including hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and industrial customers. At the department's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory, more than ten facilities produce radioactive isotopes.

DOE works with many organizations around the world to ensure the availability of vital medical isotopes. Examples include a public/private partnership with a company in Boston, Massachusetts, to bring yttrium-90, a promising new medical isotope for treatment of many cancers, to the market and a partnership with University of California—Davis to provide technology and source material for production of iodine 125 for treatment of prostate cancer.

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