“Nuclear fusion is an alternative that does not produce greenhouse gas emissions and also has other great advantages such as not producing long-term radioactive waste, lower risk of nuclear accident in its operation and cheaper raw materials.”

Pablo Aguiar-Férnandez
Ramón y Cajal Researcher at the University of Santiago de Compostela and IDIS (Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela). Founder and currently scientific advisor of Qubiotech SL.

Q_ How would you explain nuclear physics to children and young people and its greatest applications in the future for those who are thinking of studying it or attending the workshops of the 45th Annual Meeting of the Nuclear Society to be held in Vigo from September 25 to 27 ?

R_ Nuclear physics studies the nuclei of atoms that form matter and in particular how some nuclei are transformed into others through nuclear reactions that generate different types of radiation. The medical uses of this radiation have led to a substantial improvement in the diagnostic imaging of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and to great advances in the treatment of cancer.

Q_ Does the exposure of food to gamma radiation (controlled) in addition to eliminating pests and insects can delay the maturation of food and help its better preservation and less waste?

R_The irradiation of food is used in many countries for better food preservation without the need to add other substances that may have harmful effects on the health of the consumer. However, its current use is very limited and has even receded, due to the negative perception of the consumer to eat irradiated food.

Q _ What have been the latest advances in the treatment and research of Alzheimer’s aided by nuclear medicine?

R_Many of the current clinical trials have not achieved good results and have only been able to delay the progression of the disease very modestly. There is a consensus in the scientific community to explain the failure of current trials, treatments must be started before symptoms of dementia appear. At this point, positron emission tomography (PET) is the only technique that allows a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease before the onset of symptoms and is therefore an essential tool in current research.

Q_ Is it possible that radiotherapy can be used in the future to treat any type of cancer now that research is progressing?

R_The current use of radioimmunotherapy is very limited and is limited to very few cases of patients with lymphomas and usually in the third line of treatment. There are ongoing trials in other types of cancer, such as ovarian, prostate, brain and colon, but it is still too early to know if the use of radioimmunotherapy is going to be massively extended.

Q_ How is conventional radiotherapy different from proton therapy?

R_Conventional radiotherapy is a type of external radiotherapy (as opposed to radioimmunotherapy) based on electron beams with energies between 6 and 24 MeV that can be produced with linear accelerators. Protontherapy is another type of external radiotherapy but based on the use of high-energy proton beams, between 70 and 240 MeV, which have to be produced in large accelerators, such as a cyclotron or a synchrotron. The great advantage of using protons is that it allows radiation to be delivered to a tumor with minimal irradiation of surrounding tissues.

Q_ Are more specialized centers in proton therapy expected following the recently opened in Madrid?

R_ Two private centers are planned in Madrid, of the Clínica Universidad de Navarra and Quironsalud, which will begin to treat patients at the beginning of next year. Rumors have emerged of other public-private facilities in Santander, Seville, Valencia and Barcelona, ​​but none of them is far from confirmed.

Q_What is the most advisable for the best treatment of nuclear waste according to its type?

Regarding short-lived nuclear waste, good practices by personnel working in different radioactive facilities such as a hospital is sufficient so that the risk of contamination is minimal and we are able to eliminate all waste safely. Regarding the residues of long life, I am not an expert, but I consider it a challenge that we must face and discuss as a global society.

Q_ Will energy from nuclear fusion be an alternative against climate change by not producing greenhouse gases?

R_In the same way as the current nuclear fission-based nuclear power plants, nuclear fusion is an alternative that does not produce greenhouse gas emissions and also has other great advantages such as not producing long-term radioactive waste, lower risk of accident nuclear in its operation and cheaper raw materials. I do not know in detail the latest advances in nuclear fusion, but I understand that despite all these benefits at the theoretical level, so that nuclear fusion can be used at the industrial level there is still a long way to go, mainly to demonstrate its technical feasibility and economical

Vigo, August 2019. By Ania Casal