Seven developments from the U.S., China and Japan that shape demand for nuclear-grade HEPA and iodine adsorber filtration — with what each one means for facility operators.
The biggest filtration-relevant news this month is new U.S. medical isotope capacity: the NRC holds its hearing on Eden's I-131, Mo-99 and Xe-133 production complex on September 29, 2026, while SHINE advances its Mo-99 plant with up to $263 million in conditional DOE loan support. At the same time, the NRC has proposed a broad overhaul of reactor regulations, TerraPower is building in Wyoming, China approved eight more reactors and Japan's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa 6 is back online.
The NRC proposed sweeping changes under Executive Order 14300: a graded, risk-informed approach to seismic design, flexibility for control-room staffing, updated event and defect reporting, reduced recordkeeping and clarified decommissioning requirements, including use of decommissioning trust funds. Comments are open for 45 days after Federal Register publication (Docket NRC-2025-1138).
The NRC holds a mandatory public hearing on September 29, 2026 in Eunice, New Mexico, on Eden Radioisotopes' construction permit for a medical isotope complex: a 1.8-megawatt non-power reactor, a hot cell separation facility and target fabrication. Eden says the complex will produce Mo-99, iodine-131 and xenon-133 by fission, and Lu-177 by neutron activation.
Eden says its complex could supply up to half of global Mo-99 demand. Separately, DOE issued a conditional commitment for a loan of up to $263 million to SHINE Technologies for its Chrysalis facility in Janesville, Wisconsin, which DOE describes as having production capacity exceeding 75% of U.S. Mo-99 demand.
The NRC authorized construction of TerraPower's Kemmerer Power Station Unit 1 in Wyoming — its first commercial reactor construction approval in about a decade and the first approval for a non-light-water reactor in more than 40 years.
China's State Council approved eight units at four sites: Hualong One pairs at Jinqimen, Taipingling and Zhuanghe (Jinqimen and Taipingling as Hualong One 2.0 demonstrations) and two Guohe One units at Laiyang, with investment reported above CNY 170 billion. China has approved 49 reactors since 2022.
TEPCO's 1,315 MW Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Unit 6 resumed commercial operation on April 16, 2026 after more than 14 years offline — TEPCO's first reactor back in normal service since Fukushima. Unit 7 has passed regulatory review, but construction work including its specialized safety facility continues.
Indiana is taking over oversight of radioactive materials from the NRC, becoming the 41st Agreement State.
Isotope producers and radiopharmacies: fission-based I-131 and Mo-99 processing needs validated radioiodine capture on hot cell and process exhaust. See our I-131 ventilation guide and I-131 half-life and air safety.
Operating plants and restarts: long outages end with filter replacement and in-place testing. Our HEPA DOP/PAO testing guide and carbon filter replacement guide cover the essentials.
Decommissioning teams: watch the NRC's proposed decommissioning clarifications, and plan portable containment exhaust with our decommissioning air filtration guide and air-cart sizing guide.
Hospitals and universities: in Indiana and other Agreement States, radioactive materials licensing sits with the state — keep exhaust filtration test records ready for inspections. See hospital solutions and the university lab iodine filter.
Tell us your airflow, isotopes and applicable standards, and we'll propose a nuclear-grade HEPA and iodine adsorber configuration with testing documentation.
This update summarizes public sources linked above. Iodine Air Systems is not affiliated with the organizations mentioned.
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