Radioisotope properties and precautions

Select the radioisotope

Calcium Ca-45
Carbon C-14
Chrome Cr-51
Cobalt Co-57
Hydrogen H-3

Iodine I-125
Iodine I-131
Phosphorus P-32
Phosphorus P-33
Sodium Na-22
Sulfur S-35

ALI = Annual Limit of Intake
EQ = Exemption Quantity

For more information on other radioisotopes go to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) website.

Ca-45 - Properties and Precautions
Radiotoxicity	Low to medium
Half life	163 days
Emission	Moderate Energy Beta (0.257 MeV)
Range in air	52 cm
Critical organs/tissue	Bone
Precautions	Gloves, Lab coat, Aerosol control, Contamination control
Shielding	3 mm, plexiglas (lucite shield)
Monitor	beta-probe, wipes counted by liquid scintillation counter
ALI	30 (ingestion) and 9 (inhalation)
EQ	1 MBq

C-14 - Properties and Precautions
Radiotoxicity	Low to medium
Half life	5730 years
Emission	Moderate Energy Beta (0.156 MeV)
Range in air	24 cm
Critical organs/tissue	Fatty tissue
Precautions	Gloves, lab coat, aerosol control, contamination control
Shielding	3 mm, plexiglas (lucite shield)
Monitor	beta-counter, & wipes counted by liquid scintillation counter
ALI	34 (ingestion) and 3000 (inhalation)
EQ	100 MBq

Cr-51 - Properties and Precautions
Radiotoxicity	Medium to low
Half life	28 days
Emission	Gamma (0.320 MeV), X-ray (E 0.752 MeV)
Range in air	Calculate
Critical organs/tissue	Large intestine
Precautions	Gloves, lab coat, lead shield, aerosol control, contamination control, dosimeter
Shielding	7 mm, lead
Monitor	gamma & X-ray probe, wipes counted by gamma counter
ALI	530 (ingestion) and 600 (inhalation)
EQ	1 MBq

Co-57 - Properties and Precautions
Radiotoxicity	Medium to low
Half life	271 days
Emission	Gamma (0.014 - 0.692 MeV), X-ray (0.006 MeV)
Range in air	Calculate
Critical organs/tissue	Large intestine
Precautions	Gloves, lab coat, lead shield, aerosol control, contamination control, dosimeter
Shielding	3.2 mm, lead
Monitor	gamma & X-ray probe, wipes counted by gamma counter
ALI	95 (ingestion) and 30 (inhalation)
EQ	100 kBq

H-3 - Properties and Precautions
Radiotoxicity	Low
Half life	12 years
Emission	Low Energy Beta (0.019 MeV)
Range in air	6 mm
Critical organs/tissue	Body fluids
Precautions	Gloves, Lab coat, Aerosol control, Contamination control
Shielding	None
Monitor	Wipes counted by liquid scintillation counter
ALI	1000 (ingestion and inhalation)
EQ	1000 MBq

I-125 - Properties and Precautions
Radiotoxicity	Moderate
Half life	60 days
Emission	Gamma (0.035 Mev), X-ray (0.027 - 0.032 MeV)
Range in air	Calculate
Critical organs/tissue	Thyroid gland
Precautions	Gloves, lab coat, lead Shield, aerosol control, contamination control, dosimeters. NB: If 50 MBq (9.35mCi) or more are used then thyroid monitoring must be done within 5 days of manipulation. Contact RSO at local 1538.
Shielding	0.25 mm, lead
Monitor	gamma & X-ray probe, wipes counted by gamma counter
ALI	1 (ingestion and inhalation)
EQ	1 MBq

I-131 - Properties and Precautions
Radiotoxicity	Medium to low
Half life	8.04 days
Emission	Beta (0.247-0.606 Mev), X-ray (0.030 MeV) & Gamma (0.030-0.723 MeV)
Range in air	165 cm (for beta component)
Critical organs/tissue	Thyroid gland
Precautions	Gloves, Lab coat, Lead Shield, Aerosol control, Contamination control, Dosimeter
Shielding	7 mm, lead
Monitor	beta, gamma & X-ray -probe, wipes counted by liquid scintillation or gamma counter
ALI	1 (ingestion and inhalation)
EQ	10 kBq

P-32 - Properties and Precautions
Radiotoxicity	Medium to low
Half life	14 days
Emission	High Energy Beta (1.71 MeV)
Range in air	720 cm
Critical organs/tissue	Bone
Precautions	Gloves, lab coat, plexiglass shield; Aerosol control; Contamination control; Dosimeters (whole body and/or extremity) NB: If 50 MBq (1.35 mCi) or more are used, then a ring dosimeter must be worn with the whole-body dosimeter.
Shielding	2.5 cm, plexiglas (lucite shield)
Monitor	beta-counter, wipes counted by liquid scintillation counter
ALI	8 (ingestion) and 7 (inhalation)
EQ	10 kBq

P-33 - Properties and Precautions
Radiotoxicity	Medium to low
Half life	25.4 days
Emission	Moderate Energy Beta (0.249 MeV)
Range in air	46 cm
Critical organs/tissue	Bone
Precautions	Gloves, lab coat, aerosol control, contamination control
Shielding	3 mm, plexiglas (lucite shield)
Monitor	beta-counter, wipes counted by liquid scintillation counter
ALI	80 (ingestion) and 20 (inhalation)
EQ	1 MBq

Na-22 - Properties and Precautions
Radiotoxicity	Medium to low
Half life	2.6 years
Emission	Positron (0.546 MeV)
Range in air	142 cm
Critical organs/tissue	Whole body
Precautions	Gloves, Lab coat, Lead Shield, Aerosol control, Contamination control, Dosimeter
Shielding	7 mm, lead
Monitor	beta-probe, wipes counted by liquid scintillation or gamma counter
ALI	6 (ingestion) and 10 (inhalation)
EQ	10 kBq

S-35 - Properties and Precautions
Radiotoxicity	Medium to low
Half life	87 days
Emission	Moderate Energy Beta (0.167 MeV)
Range in air	30 cm
Critical organs/tissue	Testis
Precautions	Gloves, lab coat, aerosol control, contamination control
Shielding	3 mm, plexiglas (lucite shield)
Monitor	beta-counter, wipes counted by liquid scintillation counter
ALI	26 (ingestion) and 200 (inhalation)
EQ	100 MBq

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