New Lab Supports Cleanup and Speeds Deliveries Advancing Cancer Research
August 21, 2026, 2:59 p.m.

The new in-house lab allows Isotek to analyze samples of extracted medical isotopes for faster results and delivery to TerraPower Isotopes, avoiding previous delays caused by sending samples to labs elsewhere. Image by DOE

OAK RIDGE, TN - The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and its contractor Isotek Systems, LLC have installed a new analytical lab that will support the highest priority cleanup project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and speed the delivery of crucial material aiding next generation cancer treatment research.

Isotek, a wholly owned subsidiary of AtkinsRéalis, is tasked with eliminating the nation’s inventory of uranium-233 that is stored at ORNL in the world’s oldest operating nuclear facility.

(From left) Jeff Kendall, AtkinsRéalis U.S. Nuclear president, Scott Claunch, TerraPower Isotopes president, Sarah Schaefer, Isotek Systems president and project manager, Erik Olds, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management manager, Ben Goodrich, TerraPower Isotopes VP of strategy, and Teresa Robbins, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management deputy manager, cut the ribbon for the new analytical lab. Image by DOE

This project is removing a major risk, avoiding significant costs to taxpayers associated with keeping the inventory safe and secure, and enabling demolition of the storage facility to transform ORNL’s central campus and open space for important research missions.

Uranium-233 was created in the 1950s and 1960s for potential use in nuclear reactors but proved unviable as a fuel source. The material, sent from nuclear facilities around the country for storage, takes different forms. Approximately half of the inventory could be directly disposed, while the remainder requires processing to convert it into a form safe for transportation and disposal out of state.

Isotek has disposed of 75% of the inventory, but significant and challenging work remains to complete the campaign in the coming years. A newly installed lab, located in Building 2026 where processing operations are underway, will now assist those efforts.

DOE and Isotek teamed with Teledyne Brown Engineering to equip and operate the space. The addition provides in-house capabilities to analyze samples of processed material, leading to accelerated shipments.

“This addition brings an immediate return on investment,” said OREM Manager Erik Olds. “It helps avoid delays by providing employees more data and faster results as they make decisions and process material for disposal. This new, unique capability also provides us opportunities to support other priority projects in the future.”

Isotek is also extracting rare medical isotopes, thorium-229, from the uranium-233 material prior to processing and disposal. Through an innovative public-private partnership with nuclear innovation company TerraPower Isotopes, the thorium is providing the feedstock for a rare isotope that is helping advance next-generation cancer treatments: actinium-225.

TerraPower Isotopes uses a decay method to extract actinium-225 from the thorium-229 provided by Isotek. This collaboration has enabled TerraPower Isotopes to provide sustained, commercial-scale access to actinium-225 to the global pharmaceutical community; and actinium-225 is now being used in clinical trials around the world.

The new lab also gives Isotek the ability to analyze samples of extracted isotopes for faster results and delivery to TerraPower Isotopes. The added capability avoids previous delays caused by sending samples to labs elsewhere for analysis. Now, employees will receive results in an average of two weeks instead of four months.

“The Building 2026 analytical lab will allow Isotek to not only transfer thorium-229 to TerraPower Isotopes much more quickly, but it will also allow the processing team to make adjustments to increase the recovery of thorium-229 much more quickly,” said Sarah Schaefer, Isotek president and project manager.

“The future of precision medicine relies on having a dependable supply of actinium-225,” said Scott Claunch, president of TerraPower Isotopes. “Isotek’s investment in a state-of-the-art laboratory to speed up the processing of actinium-225’s parent isotope will help continue to expand production capacity, strengthen the global isotope supply chain, and ultimately expand access to new cancer therapies to those who need it most.”

The uranium-233 in storage at ORNL is the only major source of thorium-229 in the world. Through the extraction efforts of this project, Isotek has already increased the global supply by over 2,000%. The first treatments using this material commercially are expected in 2028.