Iran unveils Cesium-137 radionuclide as new nuclear feat
AEOI: Enrichment continues based on strategic framework law
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) unveiled a homegrown Cesium-137 radionuclide during a ceremony on Sunday, as the nuclear chief also announced that the nuclear enrichment continues based on the strategic framework law.
The material, which is used for multiple medical and industrial purposes, was unveiled during an exhibition in Tehran on Sunday, in the presence of the head of the AEOI, Mohammad Eslami, Press TV reported.
Asked about reports regarding Tehran slowing down its enrichment, Eslami said that Iran’s enrichment of uranium continues based on a framework established by the country’s Parliament.
In 2020, the Iranian Parliament passed a law requiring the government to take measures such as stepping up uranium enrichment beyond the limit set under Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal if other parties did not fully comply with the deal.
“Our nuclear enrichment continues based on the strategic framework law,” Eslami said, referring to a related legislation, Reuters reported.
Under the nuclear agreement, Iran could only enrich uranium to 3.67%.
Cooperation with AEA
Eslami further announced that Iran keeps cooperating with the IAEA within the framework of the safeguards agreement and that four disputed sites have been reduced to
two.
Iran and the IAEA are in a dispute triggered by the agency’s Israeli-influenced accusations, which were leveled against Tehran’s peaceful nuclear activities. The IAEA insisted on investigating what it claims to be “uranium traces” found at “undeclared nuclear sites” in Iran.
Eslami said that the negotiations aimed at resolving the dispute are advancing in the framework of the general policies of the Islamic Republic establishment.
“One of our urgent needs is nuclear diplomacy, especially with regional states,” he said. “We hope to have sustainable nuclear cooperation with different countries.”
Addressing the ceremony, Eslami also said that in addition to the nuclear fuel cycle, Iran is capable of designing, constructing, and maintaining nuclear reactors, noting that the country’s nuclear industry has a direct role in people’s lives.
The Iranian nuclear chief also hailed the production of Cesium-137 radionuclide as an invaluable nuclear achievement that eliminates the country’s reliance on other countries for the import of the substance.
The material used to be imported. Radionuclides (or radioisotopes) are radioactive atomic variations of elements. They are mostly produced by exposing suitable target materials to the neutron flux in a nuclear reactor for an appropriate time.
With a half-life of 30 years, Cesium-137 radionuclide does not exist naturally and is mainly found in used nuclear fuel and radioactive waste.
It is used in radiation devices, brachytherapy, radiotherapy, calibration springs, and various types of industrial gauges.
The material is also required for radiating blood products, cosmetics, food, and other products.
He said that the material can be used in industrial instrumentation systems, oil and gas fields, and other sectors.