The Californium Sales/Loan Program

Californium-252, has a great many applications, both in industry and research, because of its intense neutron emission. Neutron sources of encapsulated Cf-252 have been made available to DOE and other U.S. Government agencies since 1967 as a co-product of DOE's heavy-element production program located at the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) and the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center (REDC) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). A program to evaluate the market potential of Cf-252, based on its value as an intense neutron source, was established in 1968 at the Savannah River Site. This Market Evaluation Program continued until 1978, when a Cf-252 Sales/Loan Program and a Medical/University Loan Program were instituted to continue supplying Cf-252 to those sectors that had found it useful. In 1987, the DOE transferred responsibility for these programs to ORNL, where they were integrated into the activities of the REDC.

The REDC and the REDC Californium Facility (CF) provide the remote handling facilities, the special equipment, and the technical capabilities necessary for the purification of californium and the fabrication and storage of Cf-252 neutron sources. Sources are fabricated in a variety of capsule designs, sizes, and materials, which incorporate either single or double encapsulation of the Cf-252. Neutron sources can be fabricated in a content range from less than a microgram to ~50 milligrams of Cf-252. The californium is encapsulated into the various source capsules in several chemical forms: the oxide, the oxysulfate, or the palladium-californium oxide composite material. The palladium-californium oxide composite can be prepared and encapsulated in either the pellet or wire form.

Formal loan agreements for more than 200 neutron sources are currently in effect with approximately 70 institutions consisting of DOE units and integrated contractors, other U.S. Government agencies, educational and medical institutions (both foreign and domestic), and private research institutions doing contract work for various federal agencies. Annual sales of Cf-252 is typically in the range of 25 to 35 milligrams and is made primarily to commercial encapsulators both foreign and domestic.

The distribution of californium, both in bulk shipments and the various source designs, for industrial, research, educational, and medical applications is provided by the Californium Industrial Sales/Loan Program and the Californium University Loan Program as funded by the Basic Energy Science (BES) and the Isotope Production and Distribution (IPDP) programs of the Department of Energy.

For information regarding the sale of Cf-252 or the loan of neutron sources, please contact the REDC Cf Sales/Loan Coordinator, Rocky Cline.