A consortium consisting of Rosenergoatom Concern JSC and Isotope JSC has signed an agreement providing for production and supply of cobalt-60 (Co-60) to Canadian company Nordion until 2034.

Cobalt-60 is a result of high-tech production that is widely used in medicine and manufacture industry. Irradiation facilities with cobalt-60 source are used for sterilization of foods, and health care products in accordance with US and Canadian standards.

In the Russian Federation cobalt-60 is bred only at Leningrad NPP that holds 30% of world supply market owing to unique properties of RBMK-1000 reactor plant.

ТDesign features of RBMK-1000 reactor plants, presence of exposure holes, core nuclear properties allow to produce radioactive isotope without influence on the economic indicators of electric and heat energy productionУ, the Head of Radiation Technology Division of LNPP, Evgeniy Gorbunov explained.

The signed agreement stipulates the setup for Co-60 production at Smolensk NPP and Kursk NPP in addition to the present production at Leningrad NPP. At the present moment Smolensk and Kursk NPPs work on obtaining the permission documentation for Co-60production. In 2017 it is planned to load the first lot of cobalt absorbents at Smolensk NPPХs power unit No 1.

ТLeningrad NPP has successfully been producing cobalt-60 for more than 20 years. The direct agreement on LNPPХs cobalt-60 supply to Nordion is valid until 2024 (termination of Leningrad NPP operation), Р the Plant Manager of LNPP Vladimir Pereguda noted. We have achieved a significant success in production setup of cobalt-60, have worked the technology through and have taken an important position on global market with constant growth of needУ.
Cobalt-60 is a radioactive nuclide of chemical element cobalt with atomic number 27 and mass number 60. It almost doesnХt occur in nature due to short half-life. Cobalt-60 is the most long-lived radioactive isotope of cobalt, and has important practical applications.

The Leningrad NPP is an affiliate company for Rosenergoatom Concern OJSC. The plant is based in the city of Sosnovy Bor, 40 km to the west from Saint Petersburg at the Gulf of Finland shore. The Leningrad NPP is the first Russian nuclear power plant having RBMK-1000 reactors (uranium-graphite channel-type thermal neutron reactors). The NPP exploits 4 power blocks with the electric capacity of 1000 megawatt each. Also, pursuant to the NPP-2006 project, 1,2 VVER-1200 power blocks included into The State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM long-term plan are being constructed. Rosenergoatom Concern OJSC is the owner and developer of the project. Holding TITAN-2 is the primary contractor. ATOMPROEKT is the general designer.


Leningrad  NPP Information and Public Relations Administration.