Activation product
Encyclopedia
Activation products are materials made radioactive by neutron activation
.
Fission products and actinide
s produced by neutron absorption of nuclear fuel
itself are normally referred to by those specific names, and activation product reserved for products of neutron capture
by other materials, such as structural components of the nuclear reactor
or nuclear bomb, the reactor coolant, control rods or other neutron poisons, or materials in the environment. All of these, however, need to be handled as radioactive waste
. Some nuclides originate in more than one way, as activation products or fission products.
Activation products in a reactor's primary coolant loop are a main reason why reactors use a chain of two or even three coolant loops linked by heat exchanger
s.
Fusion reactors will not produce radioactive waste from the fusion product nuclei themselves, which are normally just helium-4
, but generate high neutron fluxes, so activation products are a particular concern.
Activation product radionuclides include:
Neutron activation
Neutron activation is the process in which neutron radiation induces radioactivity in materials, and occurs when atomic nuclei capture free neutrons, becoming heavier and entering excited states. The excited nucleus often decays immediately by emitting particles such as neutrons, protons, or alpha...
.
Fission products and actinide
Actinide
The actinide or actinoid series encompasses the 15 metallic chemical elements with atomic numbers from 89 to 103, actinium through lawrencium.The actinide series derives its name from the group 3 element actinium...
s produced by neutron absorption of nuclear fuel
Nuclear fuel
Nuclear fuel is a material that can be 'consumed' by fission or fusion to derive nuclear energy. Nuclear fuels are the most dense sources of energy available...
itself are normally referred to by those specific names, and activation product reserved for products of neutron capture
Neutron capture
Neutron capture is a kind of nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus collides with one or more neutrons and they merge to form a heavier nucleus. Since neutrons have no electric charge they can enter a nucleus more easily than positively charged protons, which are repelled...
by other materials, such as structural components of the nuclear reactor
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
or nuclear bomb, the reactor coolant, control rods or other neutron poisons, or materials in the environment. All of these, however, need to be handled as radioactive waste
Radioactive waste
Radioactive wastes are wastes that contain radioactive material. Radioactive wastes are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine...
. Some nuclides originate in more than one way, as activation products or fission products.
Activation products in a reactor's primary coolant loop are a main reason why reactors use a chain of two or even three coolant loops linked by heat exchanger
Heat exchanger
A heat exchanger is a piece of equipment built for efficient heat transfer from one medium to another. The media may be separated by a solid wall, so that they never mix, or they may be in direct contact...
s.
Fusion reactors will not produce radioactive waste from the fusion product nuclei themselves, which are normally just helium-4
Helium-4
Helium-4 is a non-radioactive isotope of helium. It is by far the most abundant of the two naturally occurring isotopes of helium, making up about 99.99986% of the helium on earth. Its nucleus is the same as an alpha particle, consisting of two protons and two neutrons. Alpha decay of heavy...
, but generate high neutron fluxes, so activation products are a particular concern.
Activation product radionuclides include:
| Nuclide | See also | Halflife (years) |
Parent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tritium Tritium Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The nucleus of tritium contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of protium contains one proton and no neutrons... |
12.3 | Lithium Lithium Lithium is a soft, silver-white metal that belongs to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. It is represented by the symbol Li, and it has the atomic number 3. Under standard conditions it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly... -6,7 Boron-10 Deuterium Deuterium Deuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen. It has a natural abundance in Earth's oceans of about one atom in of hydrogen . Deuterium accounts for approximately 0.0156% of all naturally occurring hydrogen in Earth's oceans, while the most common isotope ... |
|
| Beryllium-10 Beryllium-10 Beryllium-10 is a radioactive isotope of beryllium. It is formed mainly by cosmic ray spallation. Be-10 has a half-life of 1.36 × 106 years, and decays by beta decay to stable Boron-10 with a maximum energy of 556.2 keV.... |
1,530,000 | Boron-10 | |
| Carbon-14 Carbon-14 Carbon-14, 14C, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with a nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and colleagues , to date archaeological, geological, and hydrogeological... |
5,730 | Nitrogen-14 Carbon Carbon Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds... -13 |
|
| Sodium-24 Sodium-24 Sodium-24 is one of the more important isotopes of sodium. It is radioactive and created from common sodium-23 by neutron bombardment. With a 15-hour half-life, 24Na decays to 24Mg by emission of an electron and two gamma rays. Exposure of the human body to intense neutron flux creates 24Na in... |
Fast breeder | 0.0017 | Sodium Sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride... -23 |
| Sulfur-35 | 0.24 | Chlorine Chlorine Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine... -35 1% branch |
|
| Chlorine-36 Chlorine-36 Chlorine-36 is an isotope of chlorine. Chlorine has two stable isotopes and one radioactive environmental isotope: the cosmogenic isotope 36Cl. The ratio of 36Cl to stable 37Cl in the environment is ~700 × 10−15. Its half-life is 301,000 ± 4,000 years. The long half-life of 36Cl makes it... |
301,000 | Chlorine Chlorine Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine... -35 |
|
| Argon-39 | 269 | Argon Argon Argon is a chemical element represented by the symbol Ar. Argon has atomic number 18 and is the third element in group 18 of the periodic table . Argon is the third most common gas in the Earth's atmosphere, at 0.93%, making it more common than carbon dioxide... -38 |
|
| Iron-55 Iron-55 Iron-55 or 55Fe is a radioactive isotope of iron with a nucleus containing 26 protons and 29 neutrons. It decays by electron capture to manganese-55 and this process has a half-life of 2.737 years. The emitted X-rays can be used as an X-ray source for various scientific analysis methods, such as... |
2.73 | Iron Iron Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust... -54 |
|
| Nickel-59 | 76,000 | Nickel Nickel Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile... -58 |
|
| Cobalt-60 Cobalt-60 Cobalt-60, , is a synthetic radioactive isotope of cobalt. Due to its half-life of 5.27 years, is not found in nature. It is produced artificially by neutron activation of . decays by beta decay to the stable isotope nickel-60... |
5.27 | Cobalt Cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal.... -59 |
|
| Nickel-63 | 100 | Nickel Nickel Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile... -62 |
|
| Molybdenum-93 | 4,000 | Molybdenum Molybdenum Molybdenum , is a Group 6 chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is from Neo-Latin Molybdaenum, from Ancient Greek , meaning lead, itself proposed as a loanword from Anatolian Luvian and Lydian languages, since its ores were confused with lead ores... -92 |
|
| Niobium-93m | 16 | ||
| Niobium-94 | 20,300 | Niobium Niobium Niobium or columbium , is a chemical element with the symbol Nb and atomic number 41. It's a soft, grey, ductile transition metal, which is often found in the pyrochlore mineral, the main commercial source for niobium, and columbite... -93 |
|
| Technetium-99 Technetium-99 Technetium-99 is an isotope of technetium which decays with a half-life of 211,000 years to stable ruthenium-99, emitting soft beta rays, but no gamma rays.... |
LLFP | 211,000 | Molybdenum Molybdenum Molybdenum , is a Group 6 chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is from Neo-Latin Molybdaenum, from Ancient Greek , meaning lead, itself proposed as a loanword from Anatolian Luvian and Lydian languages, since its ores were confused with lead ores... -98 |
| Silver-108m | 418 | Silver Silver Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal... -107 |
|
| Cadmium-113m | 13 | Cadmium Cadmium Cadmium is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, bluish-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Similar to zinc, it prefers oxidation state +2 in most of its compounds and similar to mercury it shows a low... -112 |
|
| Tin-121m | http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/contract/cr6567/cr6567.pdf | 56 | Tin Tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4... -120 |
| Lead Lead Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed... -205 |
Q=51KeV | 15,300,000 | Lead-204 |
| Polonium-210 | LBE | 0.379 | Bismuth Bismuth Bismuth is a chemical element with symbol Bi and atomic number 83. Bismuth, a trivalent poor metal, chemically resembles arsenic and antimony. Elemental bismuth may occur naturally uncombined, although its sulfide and oxide form important commercial ores. The free element is 86% as dense as lead... -209 |