JUST reactor begins production, marketing of radioactive pharmaceuticals

AMMAN — The 5 megawatt Jordan Research and Training Reactor at the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) has started producing the radioactive pharmaceutical ingredients of iodine-131.

Marketing to Jordanian hospitals and medical facilities has also begun, Facility Director Samer Abu Qahouq said on Monday. These ingredients are used for diagnostic and treatment purposes for some cancer types, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted Abu Qahouq as saying in a statement.

The director said that Jordan has a long history of using these materials, which it had imported in the past. They may now be locally produced in the reactor, he added.