Development of ANS Standard 19.12 Nuclear Data for Isotope Production Calculations for Medical and Other Applications

Abstract

Laboratory and clinical investigations are employing a wide variety of radioisotopes in research. This research has and will continue to greatly expand the use of radioisotopes for medical, industrial, agricultural, space exploration, and national security applications [1]. Nuclear data required to perform calculations of isotope production are incomplete, dated, or in error for some isotopes that may have significant applications. This standard will establish criteria for developing recommended values for thermal neutron cross sections and resonance integrals necessary to calculate production of desired radioisotopes and associated impurities in thermal and fast reactor systems. It will also contain a compilation of these recommended values. Development of this standard will help identify missing or questionable cross section data and stimulate the performance of experiments to resolve inadequacies in the data.