Russian Rosatom starts operating nuclear research center facilities in Bolivia

Rosatom put into pilot operation the first industrial facilities of the Center for Research and Development in Nuclear Technology (CIDTN), the Russian state corporation reported.

“The Cyclotron-Preclinical Radiopharmacy-Cyclotron Complex (CCRP) and a multipurpose irradiation center in El Alto have been put into operation,” the statement said.

The CCRP is expected to provide Bolivian nuclear medicine centers with radiopharmaceuticals for more than 5,000 patients for clinical trials annually.

“Thus, Bolivian citizens will be able to undergo timely and high-quality medical examinations with advanced nuclear medicine drugs,” Rosatom says.

The multipurpose irradiation center, equipped with an industrial gamma-ray unit, makes it possible to improve food safety and extend the shelf life of various types of crops. It can process more than 70 tons of products daily to preserve their quality and consumer properties.

In addition to agricultural applications, the multipurpose irradiation center can also be used in the healthcare sector to sterilize various medical products.

The CIDTN project is unique in the nuclear industry and has no analogs in the world: the site is the highest (four kilometers above sea level) of all existing nuclear technology facilities.

The center will enable the widespread use of nuclear technology and radiation in agriculture, medicine, industry, and other important areas of human activity in Bolivia and throughout the region.

In addition to the cyclotron-radio-pharmacological complex and the multipurpose irradiation center, the CIDTN will be equipped with a reactor facility based on a water-water research reactor with a nominal capacity of 200 kW.

The center, one of Rosatom’s largest projects in Latin America, should be fully operational in early 2025, Evgeny Pakermanov, president of JSC Rusatom Overseas, the company implementing the project, told Sputnik earlier.

The CIDTN has three fields of action: the production of radiopharmaceuticals for cancer treatment at the Preclinical Radiopharmacy Cyclotron Complex, scientific research with a nuclear reactor, and safe food processing at the Multipurpose Irradiation Center.

The Bolivian scientists and professionals operating this center are trained at universities in Russia and Argentina.

The CIDTN is built on a three-hectare site in El Alto, which is more than 4,000 meters above sea level.

Therefore, the infrastructure with Russian technology is considered the highest in the world.

With information from Sputnik

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