Radiopharmaceutical Production Facility

Burns & McDonnell provided design and construction support services for a new radiopharmaceutical facility for Covidien. The new facility, erected adjacent to an existing radiopharmaceutical production facility under continuous operation, produces radiopharmaceuticals for use in diagnostic nuclear medicine, bio-imaging and treatment. Burns & McDonnell carefully coordinated all construction activities to minimize interruptions to operations of the existing facility.

The new two-story facility includes more than 22,000 square feet per floor and houses a new 750-microamp cyclotron, six targeting stations, two new hot cells and utility support systems. Its design allows for a second, future radiopharmaceutical facility. The cyclotron core is a dual-beam, negative-ion style. Targeting magnets are capable of focusing the beams on two solid targets and one future gas target station.

Since the cyclotron and target bunker were the centerpiece of the design, proper shielding was of utmost importance for safe operation of this facility. Burns & McDonnell worked closely with Covidien’s health physicist to develop a safe design for the bunker and other hot systems. The bunker incorporates solid concrete walls and ceilings up to 7 feet thick. Concrete-filled doors seal each of the seven vaults within the bunker. To reduce potential for operator exposure during handling of the activated targets and placement of the raw targets, an automated system transports targets between the target stations and the radiochemistry hot cells. Shielded raceways and area access control prevent incidental personnel exposure during target transport. 

Supply and exhaust air in potentially hot areas are single pass and include high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration. The design team specified slots in the exhaust HEPA filter for the addition of charcoal filtration sections for future isotope production. Dual and triple containment systems convey drains from potentially hot areas to a central testing and processing area. Monitoring systems evaluate exhaust air and waste water streams for radioactivity, and components installed inside of hot spaces feature carefully applied metallurgy.

The radiochemistry department houses the hot cells, where the isotope is chemically stripped from the backing plate, processed, packaged and shipped to radiopharmacies around the country. A pneumatic system transports degraded backing plates to a storage bunker where they decay to a level safe for disposal. The spent target storage facility is similar in design to the cyclotron bunker, with thinner walls and doors.

The design team’s performance on this project prompted Covidien to hire Burns & McDonnell on a non-competitive basis to design the installation of a 1,000-microamp cyclotron and target stations. This expansion houses a similar cyclotron and uses common utilities with the original facility, as planned. Construction and validation of this second facility were completed ahead of schedule.