MERIDIAN, Idaho. March 14, 2002 — Nuclear Solutions Inc. has obtained the exclusive worldwide rights to a proprietary technology for the removal of radioactive isotopes from contaminated wastewater.
Water containing tritium and deuterium is currently stored in several locations worldwide due to the expense of available methods of treatment. Severe health problems for humans and animals are linked to these contaminants and pose a worldwide environmental threat.
The technology, referred to as "GHR," was obtained from the Institute for Industrial Mathematics, Inc (IIM), of Beer-Sheva, Israel. The acquisition of GHR is part of NSOL's strategy to diversify its technology portfolio into complementary nuclear waste remediation areas that have a high potential for revenue generation in the short-term, and that are in line with the company's goal of ridding the environment of nuclear waste.
Water containing tritium and deuterium are produced in significant quantities as a by-product of nuclear reactor operations and weapons complex activities. While Tritium has a half-life of only 12.5 years, it poses a significant heath risk since tritiated water is processed by plants, animals and humans like ordinary water. Tritium can also become transformed into other chemicals or proteins needed by the body, as well as integrating itself into DNA. Tritium is also known to affect developing fetuses. Regulations for restricting the concentrations of tritium in drinking water are based primarily on cancer risk to adults.
"GHR is a ground breaking technology in the treatment of water containing certain radioactive isotopes. We feel very fortunate to be working with the incredible scientific team at IIM in Israel," said Dr. Paul M. Brown, President and CEO of Nuclear Solutions. "There are literally billions of gallons of radioactively contaminated water stored around the world waiting for a cost effective solution. While we can't yet publicly disclose the details of the technology due to protection of the intellectual property, we believe that GHR will represent the most cost effectively method for removal of contaminant isotopes such as tritium and others from nuclear wastewater, and we intend to secure a place in the commercial water remediation market."
Dr. Brown also pointed out that the GHR technology is completely different and should not be confused with the company's proprietary photodeactivation technology (Hypercon™ ADS). The GHR process is a highly efficient, chemically based filtration system that uses an advanced water-reactor to extract radioactive elements from nuclear wastewater. The extracted isotopes are then collected and processed for appropriate disposal. Under the terms of the agreement, IIM will perform the additional research required to prepare GHR technology for commercial application. Upon conclusion of the commercialization phase, which is expected to last 12 to 15 months, IIM and NSOL will aggressively pursue the filling of worldwide patents. IIM will own the intellectual property and NSOL will have the exclusive worldwide rights for a period of 20 years.
IIM is associated with Ben-Gurion University in Beer-Sheva, and employs a group of highly qualified applied mathematicians and scientists dedicated to solving practical problems. The 20 staff members of the Institute share about 400 years of experience in applied science, have published and taught extensively.
Nuclear Solutions' technology, the HYPERCON™ ADS process, is an X-ray based photodisintegration process, which in currently in development as a possible new application for the remediation of nuclear waste.
The proposed process would operate at a sub-critical level, and be inherently safe. Any excess heat produced by the process could also be recovered to generate electricity.
The application of photonuclear physics to nuclear waste is called Photodeactivation. Photodeactivation involves the irradiation of specific radioactive isotopes to force the emission of a neutron, thereby producing an isotope of reduced atomic mass. These resultant isotopes can be characteristically either not radioactive or radioactive with a short half-life.
