Requirements in Kazakhstan for radioactive sources
Demand in the Kazakhstan market by segment
The idea of establishing a production facility for sealed sources of ionizing radiation based on the WWR-K reactor arose in INP as
early as 2000. At that time the gas and oil industry was developing rapidly in Kazakhstan. Hand in hand with the burgeoning construction
of gas and oil pipelines, came ever more demanding requirements for radiographic control, which, in most cases, required the use
of sealed sources, mainly based on Iridium-192. With the increased demand for radionucleid sources, INP set about establishing a facility
for the commercial production of iridium sources.
For three years, the Institute, using its own resources, went ahead. It trained and certifi ed specialists, prepared and introduced
technical documentation, acquired a welding facility and, in 2003, received a state license permitting it to manufacture sources.
However, for full scale production it was essential to equip the production facility with modern equipment and to modernise the hot
cells of the WWR-K reactor, where it was envisaged about 80% of all technical operations would be carried out.
Thanks to the support of CNCP, market research was carried out and a business plan prepared for the future production of sealed
radioactive sources. This was the first experience that INP scientists had of marketing. The results showed that there was demand in the
Kazakhstan market not only for Iridium-192, but also for Antimony-124, Cobalt-60 and Thallium-204, which were previously imported
from Russia, Poland and other countries. Currently, the main customers for sealed radioactive sources in Kazakhstan are:
firms in the gas and oil extraction industries – mainly Cobalt-60, Caesium-137, and Selenium-75 sources and Antimony-124 which is
used for industrial radiography, borehole maintenance etc.;
businesses engaged in prospecting – sources for onsite x-ray facilities;
mining companies – for example, isotopes used for on-site and laboratory analysis of ores;
medical institutions with gamma-therapy apparatus requiring high activity sources;
scientific and educational institutions using various radioisotopes for research and in education.
Market research not only made it possible to decide on the range of sources to be provided, but also stimulated the interest of
customers in additional services such as recharging defectoscopes, transport, and the safe storage of spent sources.
The joint project, entitled “Production of sealed radioactive sources for Kazakhstan industry and medicine”, was launched, with funding
from CNCP, on 1 November 2007. Repairs were carried out on the building, and a start was made with modernising the hot cells and
fabricating, fitting out and testing the special equipment needed for atmospheric control and for production. Of the 24 positions to be
created by the project, 20 had already been filled.
After successful testing of prototypes, some tens of sources were manufactured and mounted, meanwhile, operations were set up for
recharging defectoscopes, transport and the eventual safe storage of the isotopes concerned in a depository.
A review of the results shows that, thanks to help from CNCP and the efforts of the staff of the Institute, full scale commercial
production of radioactive sources together with the provision of a full complex of associated services «preparation – recharging –
transportation – storage» has been made possible.
Yevgenny Yermakov Head of the Centre for Non-Destructive Testing,
CNCP Coordinator for INP, Alatau
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