DOE Awards Contract to Convert Defense Legacy Material Into Weapon Against Cancer 10/9/2003
From: Hope Williams of the U.S. Department of Energy, 202-586-5806 WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 -- As part of an initiative to clean up Cold War legacy sites, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced today that the Department of Energy (DOE) will award a contract to Isotek Systems, LLC, in Oak Ridge, Tenn., to down blend enriched uranium-233 and extract isotopes that show great promise in the treatment of deadly cancers. The contract's total estimated cost is approximately $128 million dollars over an estimated nine-year period. "DOE has an important responsibility to clean up the legacies 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." Isotek Systems is a limited liability corporation formed by Duratek Federal Services, Inc., Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., and Burns and Roe Enterprises, Inc. Additionally, DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, and Theragenics, Inc., will partner with Isotek to produce and deliver the isotopes. For more than 30 years, DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has stored more than 1,200 containers of enriched uranium-233, originally produced at the department's former defense nuclear materials production plants. This uranium, which requires expensive security, safety and environmental controls, has been stored at a laboratory facility, Building 3019, that dates back to the Manhattan Project. The contract award announced today calls for extraction of thorium-229 during the down blending process. The thorium will be used by Isotek's partner, Theragenics, Inc., to extract actinium-225 and supply its daughter product, bismuth-213, for ongoing cancer research, including Phase II clinical trials for treatment of acute myologenous leukemia. PNNL will work with Theragenics on research and development that can optimize the actinium extraction process. Production of actinium, including research and development, is a private venture at no cost to the government. These isotopes are also being explored for treatment of other serious cancers of the lungs, pancreas, and kidneys. As part of the treatment, the isotopes are bound to monoclonal antibodies that attack the cancer while minimizing the impact to surrounding tissue. Over the past five years, the department has provided modest quantities of actinium-225 for cancer research. This project will significantly increase supply. DOE has developed a three-phased approach to complete this initiative. The base contract award is for Phase I, Planning and Design. Phases II and III, Project Implementation and Shutdown of the Building 3019 Complex, are contract options that may be unilaterally exercised by the department. Additional information on the department's isotope program may be found on the department's nuclear energy web site, http://www.nuclear.gov. | |