Tomsk Polytechnic University has launched a nickel plating section for cobalt blanks used in the production of the radioactive isotope cobalt-60. After certification, the new technology will allow producing up to 100 items per day for the nuclear industry.
TPU specialists developed and created the production section. Their technology is based on vacuum-plasma deposition of a nickel coating on cylinders made of the stable isotope cobalt-59.
These blanks are used as targets placed in the active zone of RBMK reactors. After several years of irradiation, cobalt-59 transforms into cobalt-60 – a source of powerful gamma radiation with a half-life of 5.27 years.
Nickel coating is necessary to increase safety when working with targets. It forms a strong and uniform protective layer that reduces the risk of personnel contact with the material after it transforms into a radioactive isotope.
The Russian nuclear industry has been producing cobalt-60 in RBMK reactors for over 30 years. According to Rosenergoatom, Russia accounts for about 30% of the global market for this isotope, and approximately 15% of medical devices worldwide are sterilized using Russian cobalt-60.
Cobalt-60 is used for radiation processing of medical equipment, consumables, and other products where effective destruction of microorganisms is required without the use of high temperatures.