A hot-cell rotary thermal processing system will be used to treat waste from nuclear medicine production at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), thanks to a contract awarded to Harper International, Buffalo, N.Y.

ANSTO’s Synroc technology has been developed to provide a safe, secure matrix for the immobilization and final disposal of radioactive waste. It will be used to manage radioactive wastes from the production of the radioisotope Molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), which is used for 80 percent of nuclear medicine procedures. Calcination is a key step in the Synroc process.

Features of the thermal processing system include an advanced heating element design to ease remote operation and maintenance, says the manufacturer. Modular components design eases remote maintenance in a hot cell.

ANSTO is one of Australia’s largest public research organizations and operates the nation’s only nuclear reactor, OPAL.