Nuclear Facts

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Using Radioisotopes

Some common radioisotopes used in medical, industrial and scientific applications. This information is sourced from our brochure: Radioisotopes: their role in society today (PDF 4.3 MB).

Research reactor-produced medical radioisotopes

Radioisotope	Half-life	Use
Chromium-51	27.7 days	Used to label red blood cells and quantify gastro-intestinal protein loss.
Iodine-131	8.02 days	Used to diagnose and treat various diseases associated with the human thyroid.
Iridium-192	73.83 days	Supplied in wire form for use as an internal radiotherapy source for certain cancers, including those of the head and breast.
Molybdenum-99	66 hours	Used as the ‘parent’ in a generator to produce technetium-99m, the most widely used radioisotope in nuclear medicine.
Phosphorus-32	14.28 days	Used in the treatment of excess red blood cells.
Samarium-153	46.7 hours	Used to reduce the pain associated with bony metastases of primary tumours.
Technetium-99m	6.01 hours	Used to image the brain, thyroid, lungs, liver, spleen, kidney, gall bladder, skeleton, blood pool, bone marrow, heart blood pool, salivary and lacrimal glands, and to detect infection.
Yttrium-90	64 hours	Used for liver cancer therapy.

Cyclotron-produced medical radioisotopes

Radioisotope	Halflife	Use
Copper-64	12.7 hours	Used to study genetic disease affecting copper metabolism; in Positron Emission Tomography; and also has potential therapeutic uses.
Gallium-67	78.25 hours	Used in imaging to detect tumours and infections.
Iodine-123	13.2 hours	Used in imaging to monitor thyroid function and detect adrenal dysfunction.
Thallium-201	72.9 hours	Used in imaging to detect the location of damaged heart muscle.
Carbon-11 Nitrogen-13 Oxygen-15 Fluorine-18	20.3 minutes 10 minutes 122 minutes 1.83 hours	These are used in Positron Emission Tomography to study brain physiology and pathology; for detecting the location of epileptic foci; and in dementia, and psychiatry and neuropharmacology studies. They are also used to detect heart problems and diagnose certain types of cancer.

Naturally occurring radioisotopes used in industry and science

Radioisotope	Half-life	Use
Carbon-14	5 715 years	Used to measure the age of organic material that is up to 50 000 years old.
Chlorine-36	301 000 years	Used to measure sources of chloride and the age of water that is up to 2 million years old
Lead-210	22.6 years	Used to date layers of sand and soil laid down up to 80 years ago.
Hydrogen-3 (tritium)	12.32 years	Used to measure the age of ‘young’ groundwater (up to 30 years old).

Artificially produced radioisotopes used in industry and science

Radioisotope	Halflife	Use
Americium-241 •	232.7 years	Used in neutron gauging and smoke detectors.
Cobalt-60 •	5.27 years	Used in gamma radiography, gauging, and commercial medical equipment sterilisation.
Caesium-137 •	30.07 years	Used in radiotracing to identify sources of soil erosion and depositing; also for thickness gauging.
Gold-198 •	2.7 days	Used to trace factory waste causing ocean pollution, and to trace sand movement in river beds and on ocean floors.
Gold-198 Technetium-99m	2.7 days 6.01 days	Used to study sewage and liquid waste movements. Nb technetium-99m is generated from its reactor-produced 'parent', molybdenum-99.
Iridium-192	73.8 days	Used in gamma radiography
Iridium-192 • Gold-198 • Chromium-51•	73.8 days 2.7 days 27.7 days	Used to trace sand to study coastal erosion
Tritiated water (containing tritium)	12.32 years	Used as a tracer to study sewage and liquid wastes.
Ytterbium-169	32 days	Used in gamma radiography
Zinc-65 † Manganese-54 •	243.87 days 312.1 days	Used to predict the behaviour of heavy metal components in effluents from mining waste water.

Key: • reactor-produced † cyclotron-produced

Nb only the more commonly used radioisotopes are listed here.