Cyclotron Used to Treat Cancer Will Close

A cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, used to destroy hard-to-treat tumors, is closing for lack of funds, leaving cancer patients with no alternative treatment. The facility has treated about 1,300 people over the last 12 years.

The Department of Energy decided to close the Bevalac cyclotron because NASA--the machine’s main client--cannot find the $15 million a year needed to run it. The Bevalac beam allows NASA to study the effects of cosmic radiation on astronauts and to test space instruments by imitating cosmic rays.