Radium sources yield cancer-fighting Ac-225 in IAEA program

The International Atomic Energy Agency has reported that, to date, 14 countries have made 14 transfers of disused radium to be recycled for use in advanced cancer treatments under the agency's Global Radium-226 Management Initiative. Through this initiative, which was launched in 2021, legacy radium-226 from decades-old medical and industrial sources is used to produce actinium-225 radiopharmaceuticals, which have shown effectiveness in the treatment of patients with breast and prostate cancer and certain other cancers.

The sources: Disused and sealed Ra-226 sources (DSRS) can, according to the IAEA, can amount to a "significant volume of the inventory of radioactive waste" held by member countries. Ra-226 was formerly used for various medical and industrial purposes until it was replaced by safer and more effective alternatives. Today, approximately 100 countries have legacy stocks of this radioisotope.

IAEA assistance: Since 1996, the IAEA has assisted member states in collecting Ra-226, placing it in stainless steel containers, and transferring the containers to authorized safe storage facilities. However, the 1,604-year half-life of Ra-226, its unique decay chain, and radiation emissions present serious long-term management challenges. The global demand for Ac-225 for targeted alpha therapy is also increasing.

About 80 countries have joined the Global Radium-226 Management Initiative set up to improve the process. Radiopharmaceutical producers convert old Ra-226 sources into Ac-225 using cyclotron particle accelerators, which direct charged particles into the radium sources to change their fundamental composition and make them safer for medical applications.

Recent transfers: According to the IAEA, during one of the most recent Ra-226 transfers last September, Croatia moved 298 Ra-226 sources from the Ruder Boskovic Institute to Canadian Nuclear Laboratories. As part of this process, CNL assisted the Croatian institute with technical planning and packaging and provided radiological equipment to support the radiological work plan.

During an October transfer, Guatemala moved 40 needles and tubes containing Ra-226 from the National Centre for Radioactive Waste to Niowave in the United States. The recycled sources are to be used for research applications to improve Ac-225 targeted alpha therapies.

The Philippines has been collaborating with CNL on the transfer of 243 Ra-226-containing needles, tubes, cylinders, wires, and rods from the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute to the Canadian facility. Additional transfers of these sources are planned for this year.

Norasalwa Zakaria, head of the IAEA's Waste Technology Section, said, "We invite all Member States with legacy Ra-226 sources to join this effort. Together, through collaboration and shared responsibility, we can transform a nuclear legacy into a resource that supports cancer treatment and saves lives."