Assembly of technetium generators at Amersham Int.

This image is part of the sequence Industry: Assembly of technetium isotope (radioactivity) generators on a production line

Credit: DAVID PARKER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

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Caption: Production line of technetium-99m (Tc-99m) isotope generators, used as sources of radioactive tracers for gamma ray scintigraphy in hospital nuclear medicine departments. Tc-99m is short lived (its radioactive decay rate, or half-life, is 6 hours), so a generator fuelled by its longer-lived parent isotope, molybdenum- 99 (a fission product of a nuclear reactor) is provided as a continuous, yet short-term source. Here at Amersham International, pre-assembled Amertec II generators await being loaded with radioactive molybdenum (adsorbed onto alumina columns), a remotely- controlled process that takes place in the "shielded facility" to the left (behind green windows).

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Keywords: amersham international, amertec ii generator, assembly line, energy, industrial, industry, isotope, nuclear, nuclear medicine, processing, production, radioactive, radioactivity, tc-99m, technetium generator, technology

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