U.S. Department of Energy, Albuquerque Operations Office, Contracts and Procurement Division, P.O. Box 5400, Albuquerque, NM 87185-5400

99 -- PRODUCTION OF THE RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPE MOLYBDENUM-99 POC Daniel J. Saiz, (505) 845-4225, Contract Specialist, Eusebio M. Espinosa, (505) 845-5809, Contracting Officer. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) seeks sources which can provide a domestic capability to produce the radioactive isotope molybdenum-99 (99Mo) to meet the needs of the U.S. medical community should be an interruption in the supply from the present foreign supplier. The need to establish this capability is considered to be urgent. An environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed project is currently being prepared. Because of the urgency, the DOE prefers to use a proprietary process developed by the Cintichem Corporation, and now owned by the DOE. This process has a Master Drug File approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In the process, stainless steel targets containing small quantities of highly enriched uranium-235 (HEU/U235) are irradiated for several days in a nuclear reactor. Molybdenum-99 is one of the fission products generated by this irradiation. After the target is removed from the reactor, a chemical process is performed to remove the U235 and fission products from the target, separate the 99Mo, and package and ship it to radio pharmaceutical manufacturers within one day of removal of the target from the reactor, Other radioisotopes (131I and 133Xe125 would be generated in the 99Mo targets in this process, and could be extracted. Also, I could be produced using other additional targets. The Kirtland Area Office (KAO) of he DOE Albuquerque Operations Office is responsible for demonstrating the feasibility of the Cintichem process. Assuming that the Cintichem process is confirmed to be used in the proposed 99Mo production project, in order to move ahead as quickly as possible once the reactor for irradiation of the targets is selected, KAO is interested in identifying potential fabricators that have the capabilities needed to produce these specialized targets and ship them to the selected irradiation facility. The proposed targets would be stainless steel, approximately 18 inches long and 1.25 inches in diameter, and would be electro-coated on the inside with approximately 25 grams of HEU. Special end fittings would be welded on to seal the target, mate with and align the target with the core of the selected reactor, and facilitate capture of the gaseous fission products during the extraction process. The DOE envisions a requirement to produce 600 such targets per year, with an additional 1,000 to be produced over the first two years to serve as a reserve should there be interruptions in the target manufacturing process or surges in demand for 99Mo. It is expected that a target manufacturing contract would be for five years. The DOE would provide the HEU as U3O8. Any part interested in being considered as a potential commercial manufacturer of the 99Mo targets must respond with a statement of interest that: 1) describes their technical expertise, manufacturing capabilities, financial resources, nuclear material handling capability, cost allocation methods for facility operation and decontamination and decommissioning, past experience and current programs; 2) describes the staff, facilities and equipment that are available for application to this effort; 3) addresses each of the capabilities listed above, and; 4) identifies potential areas of deficiency in experience, staff, facilities and equipment. Capabilities that are of particular interest are: 1) detailed target and fabrication process design, 2) facilities licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), or approved by the DOE, for possession and utilization of HEU, 3) preparation of a uranium-based electroplating solution, 4) electroplating and calcining a uniform and stable coating of HEU on the inside wall of a welded stainless steel tube, 5) welding of end fittings onto the plated tubes, 6) purge, inert gas fill and leak test of completed targets, 7) target surface decontamination, 8) quantitative nuclear material assay, 9) uranium recovery and recycling, 10) waste minimization, management and storage/disposal (radioactive, hazardous and mixed waste), and 11) quality assurance (QA)/quality control (QC) programs consistent with DOE requirements for nuclear applications and FDA requirements for suppliers of medical isotopes. Interested parties must demonstrate solid engineering, manufacturing, QA/QC, and operational support expertise and availability of suitable facilities necessary to support the design and fabrication of the targets. Nothing in this notice should be interpreted to commit DOE to enter into a contractual relationship with any interested party since the Cintichem process may not be confirmed for use, or some other method of producing 99Mo may be selected, or the DOE may opt for the No Action alternative when the EIS process is completed. All responsible sources should submit their qualification documentation not later than 30 days from publication. Sources shall indicate whether they are a small, small disadvantaged, 8(a) or large business. The SIC number is 2819 and the size standard is 1000 employees. Based on the responses received, notice is hereby given that the Government may set the procurement aside for small businesses. Only written responses to this notice will be accepted and should be addressed to the point of contact, Daniel J. Saiz, at the address listed above or faxed to (505) 845-4210. Technical questions may be addressed to Mr. Stanley Brown by calling him at (505) 845-6020 or by FAX to (505) 845-6867. Business questions should be address to Eusebio M. Espinosa calling him at (505) 845-5809 or by FAX (505) 845-4210. All questions will need to be followed in writing to Daniel J. Saiz at the address listed above. Control No. 95-21. (289)

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