To produce actinium-227, the isotope used for an FDA-approved cancer treatment, the first step is to bombard targets of the radioisotope radium-226 in ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR). The problem? Radium, produced by the radioactive decay of uranium, is very hard to find and extremely difficult to work with. But it was much more plentiful in the past.
This article was originally published on MedicalXpress.com

