Progess in technology development for conversion of {sup 99}Mo production--BATAN's (Indonesia) conversion program, progress in the CNEA (Argentina) LEU foil/base-side process, and development of inorganic sorbents for {sup 99}Mo production.

Currently, nearly all of the world's supply of {sup 99}Mo is produced fiom the fissioning of {sup 235}U in targets of high-enriched uranium (HEU). Conversion of these targets to low-enriched uranium (LEU) would ease worldwide concern over the use and transport of this weapons-grade material. This paper reviews three projects: (1) the ongoing conversion of BATAN's {sup 99}Mo production process from HEU oxide targets (Cintichem processing) to LEU foil targets (Cintichem processing), (2) demonstration of LEU foil targets and base-side processing in CNEA's facility, and (3) the evaluation of two inorganic Thermoxid sorbents for Mo recovery and purification in acidic U-bearing solutions.