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Radionuclide
Handbook

for Laboratory Workers in Spectrometry, Radiation Protection and Medicine

Anthropogenic

  • Activation & fission products

  • NucMed: therapy, diagnostic, PET, … Dose: emitted energies per decay

  • Iodine’s & special nuclides

  • Nuclide boxes inclusive decay & production

Particle Induced Radiation

  • Shielding, detector/mounting material

  • Muon induced radiation

  • Neutron scattering & capture

  • Activation isotopes

  • Fluorescence in shielding materials

Actinides

  • U/Th (n,2n) & (n,γ) activation process

  • Pu/Am/Np/U/Th/Pa - production

  • All four Plutonium & Neptunium decay series

  • Nuclide boxes inclusive decay & production

Calibration Radioisotopes

  • Suitability of isotopes for calibra-tion using HPGe detectors

  • Standard & multiphoton sources

  • Low & high energy isotopes

  • Natural intrinsic check sources

  • Neutron sources as Cf & Am

  • Nuclide boxes inclusive decay & production

Naturals

  • All decay series

  • U-238/Th-232/U-235/Pu-244/(Np-237)

  • Isotopics: Uranium ratios

  • Cosmogenic, complementary nuclides

  • Nuclide boxes inclusive decay & production

Spectrometry Source-Detection Effects

  • SE/DE/XE: single/double/x-ray escape

  • CS/RS: coincidence/random summing

  • Line broadening (Li-7)

  • Asymmetric peaks: Ge lattice recoil

  • Air filter samples: Pb-212 x-ray triplets

Handbook description

Particular emphasis is placed on the methodical combination of the normative fundament of isotope decay-scheme with the decay structures in a new developed list-mode by the author, including:

  • half-life, q-values, references, uncertainties

  • Alpha-, Beta(-/+)-, EC-, IT-, sf-branches, energies & emission-probabilities as well for photons & x-rays

  • energy-lists in intensity order with gray highlighted fields for energy interference for alpha’s

  • cascade decays (level-population), crossover transitions, summing & escape energies as well coincidence & random summing,

but also a lot of additional information to the properties of isotopes as abundance, natural activity, activation, isotope production, etc. from the latest available nuclear data bases. The Handbook provides not only in-depth knowledge on decay information but also for the wide-field of n-interaction/activation occurring on nuclear power plants, on air components, on selected light isotopes as well as on cosmic induced radiation and observable photons produced in commonly used shielding, mounting and detector materials for lowest-background application. Isotopes helpful for indication or evidence of activation as Ag-106, Rh-102 and fission as I-130 products (for nuclear forensics) are displayed.

Main Updates 2021/22/23

2021 revised

  • The focus was on detailed elaboration of natural X-ray emissions as well as their implementation in the γ-spectrometry analyses software VRF from "Snakedance Scientific";

  • All 4-decay series (U/Th/U/Np) as well as anthropogenic, medical and neutron-induced isotopes (α/β/γ/x-ray emissions).

  • Information to  the production of activation and fission radioisotopes have beeninserted

  • The dose in MeV/Bq-s, i.e., the emitted energy per decay is now implemented for the most important radioisotopes to determine the absorbed dose for isotope radiation each.

  • A new large energy and isotope list (~2900 entries) from radioisotopes from the "Radionuclide Handbook" has been prepared as a separate "Energy/Isotope Handbook".

​

Extended revision 2022/23

  • More than 25 new anthropogenic radioisotopes of the CTBTO and TUM-RCM Garching relevant radionuclide lists were implemented.

  • Extention of energy/isotope lists to ~4600 entries from all radioisotopes from the "Radionuclide Handbook" (~310 isotopes), inclusive SE, DE, XE, RS & CS effects, radioisotope production and additional information, has been prepared into the separate "Energy/Isotope Tabels".

  • In general, the latest available data are updated until April 2023 - selected from NNDC(NDS), BIPM(LNHB/LNE), IAEA and NP for each radioisotope.

Table of Contents

​

1. Quick Info

2. Introduction
    2.1 Notes
    2.2 Description
    2.3 Additional Symboles

3. Natural Isotopes
    3.1 Natural and Np Decay Chains
          3.1.1 U-238 Decay and Daughters (Radium Series)
          3.1.2 Th-232 Decay and Daughters (Thorium Series)
          3.1.3 U-235 Decay and Daughters (Actinium Series)
          3.1.4 Np-237 Decay and Daughters (Neptunium Series)
    3.2 Natural Isotopes in Detail
          3.2.1 Decay of U-238 and their Daughters
          3.2.2 Decay of Th-232 and their Daughters
          3.2.3 Decay of U-235 and their Daughters
          3.2.4 Radiological Data of Uranium
          3.2.5 Complementary Primordial Radioisotopes
          3.2.6 Cosmogenic Produced Radioisotopes
          3.2.7 X-Ray from Natural Families
    3.3 γ- and α- Energies in Energy-Order of Natural Isotope
          3.3.1 γ-Energies in Energy-Order of Natural Isotopes
          3.3.2 α-Energies in Energy-Order of Natural Isotopes
          3.3.3 α-Energies of Lanthanides and Metals

4. Actinides
    4.1 General View of Isotope Production and Decay Channels & Series
          4.1.1 Pu-245/241, U-237, Th-233 Production & Decay- to Np-Series
          4.1.2 Pu/Am-242, U/Pa/Th-234 Production & Decay- to Ra-Series
          4.1.3 Pu-243, U-239, U/Th-235 Production & Decay- to Ac-Series
          4.1.4 Pu/Am-244, Pu-240, U-236, Pa-232 Production & Decay- to Th-Series
    4.2 Plutonium Isotopes in Detail
          4.2.1 Pu-241, U-237 Decay Schemes
          4.2.2 Pu-242/238 Decay Schemes
          4.2.3 Pu-243, Pu/Np/U-239 Decay Schemes
          4.2.4 Pu-244, Pu/Np/U-240, U-236/232 Decay Schemes
    4.3 γ- & α-Energies in Energy-Order of Actinides
          4.3.1 γ-Energies in Energy-Order of Actinides
          4.3.1 α-Energies in Energy-Order of Neptunium
          4.3.1 α-Energies in Energy-Order of Actinides

5. Anthropogenic Radioisotopes
    5.1 Industry, Energy, Research
        5.1.1 Activation Products
        5.1.2 Fission Isotopes
    5.2 Nuclear Medicine
        5.2.1 Overview (Production, Decay, Dosimetric Data)
        5.2.2 Therapy (Beta Emitter)
        5.2.3 Diagnostic
             In Vivo
             In Vitro
        5.2.4 PET (Positron Emitter)
        5.2.5 Bone Seeking Radioisotopes
        5.2.6 Body Composition Radionuclides
    5.3 Iodine Radioisotopes
    5.4 Photon Energies in Energy-Order

6. Standard Calibration Radionuclides
    6.1 General Cosiderations and Isotope Overview
    6.2 Isotopes usable without Coincidence Correction
    6.3 Isotopes requiring Coincidence Correction
    6.4 Multi-Phootn Standard Isotopes
    6.5 Low-Energy Isotopes
    6.6 Electron Standard Isotopes
    6.7 Escape- and Sum-Energies
    6.8 Cf-252 and Am-241 Neutron Sources
    6.9 γ-Energies in Energy-Order of Calibration Isotopes

7. Low-Background Aplication
    7.1 Observable γ-Lines from Natural Isotopes
    7.2 Observable γ-Lines from Man-Made Isotopes
    7.3 Particle Induced Radiation
          7.3.1 Neutron Scattering
          7.3.2 Neutron Capture
          7.3.3 Activation Capture
          7.3.4 Fluorescence
    7.4 Neutron Capture of Light Isotopes
    7.5 γ-Energies in Energy-Order of Low-Background Measurements

8. List of Isotopes and Materials
    8.1 Properties of Isotopes
    8.2 Properties of Materials

Appendix
    A.1 Special Isotopes and Examples of Coincidence Deacay
    A.2 Coincidence Correction for Calibration Isotopes
    A.3 Comments to Data Evaluation and Gamma-Ray Emission Probability

References

Nuclide and Isotope Index

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