The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) broke ground October 24 on a new isotope research facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee.
The Stable Isotope Production and Research Center (SIPRC) will expand the nation's capability to enrich stable isotopes for medical, industrial, and research applications, and will be supported initially with $75 million in federal funds, according to the DOE.
The new facility will help the DOE's goals to build out domestic supply chains critical to America's global leadership in science and innovation, officials said.
"Isotopes are so essential to helping diagnose and treat diseases like cancer and for identifying nuclear threats," U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in a statement released by the department. "With support from the President's Inflation Reduction Act, the world-class Stable Isotope Production and Research Center will help establish a reliable domestic supply of isotopes critical to the health and safety of Americans in every corner of the nation."
