LARAMED facility status in the SPES building

The LARAMED facilities in the SPES building include:

Two irradiation bunkers located underground (the so-called “RILAB section”): the first one (Low) dedicated to nuclear cross-sections measurements, by using low-intensity proton-beams (i.e., up to 100 nA). The second one (High) dedicated to the irradiation of high power (i.e., up to ~ 10 kW) solid targets. Two additional bunkers are also present (the so-called “RILAB and RIFAC sections”) where two, high intensity beam lines are foreseen to be installed in further years for massive production of medical radionuclides.

Two laboratories are under completion on the second floor of the SPES building: the “RILAB Target-preparation laboratory” and the “RILAB Radiochemistry laboratory”.

A third laboratory named “Radioisotope Factory laboratory (RIFAC) for radioisotope/radiopharmaceutical production” is foreseen in the future (light-blue area in Figure). It will be dedicated to the implementation of a laboratory for GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) production of radiopharmaceuticals, in collaboration with a private company. 

Currently, laboratories and infrastructures of the SPES building are not yet operative: for this reason, the LARAMED research activities described rely on a wide network of collaborations, both national and international.

Temporarily, the nuclear cross-section measurements will be carried out in the S008 bunker (previously called “ISOL-2” vault), exploiting the surrounding areas to perform the experimental activities (recovery of the irradiated samples and gamma-spectrometry), as shown in the Figure below.