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Tin-126

 
Wikipedia: Tin-126
Long-lived
fission products
Prop:
Unit:
t½
Ma
Yield
%
Q *
KeV
βγ
*
99Tc .211 6.1385 294 β
126Sn .230 .1084 4050 βγ
79Se .295 .0447 151 β
93Zr 1.53 5.4575 91 βγ
135Cs 2.3  6.9110 269 β
107Pd 6.5  1.2499 33 β
129I 15.7  .8410 194 βγ

Tin-126 is a radioisotope of tin and one of only 7 long-lived fission products. While tin-126's halflife of 230,000 years translates to a low specific activity that limits its radioactive hazard, its shortlived decay product, antimony-126, emits high-energy gamma radiation, making external exposure to tin-126 a potential concern.

126Sn is in the middle of the mass range for fission products. Thermal reactors, which make up almost all current nuclear power plants, produce it at a very low yield (such as 0.0236% or 0.06%), since slow neutrons almost always fission 235U or 239Pu into unequal halves. Fast fission in a fast reactor or nuclear weapon, or fission of some heavy minor actinides like californium, will produce it at higher yields.

Chain yield, % per fission[1]
Thermal Fast 14 MeV
232Th not fissile .0593±.0087 1.08 ± .17
233U .233 ± .032 .325 ± .075 1.79 ± .24
235U .0594±.0052 .098 ± .020 1.62 ± .49
238U not fissile .093 ± .020 1.38 ± .25
239Pu .314 ± .049 .209 ± .044 secret
241Pu .362 ± .089 .157 ± .031 secret
Actinides Halflife Fission products
244Cm 241Pu f 250Cf 243Cmf 10–30 y 137Cs 90Sr 85Kr
232 f 238Pu f is for
fissile
69–90 y 151Sm nc➔
249Cf  f 242Amf 141–351 No fission product
has halflife 102
to 2×105 years
241Am 251Cf  f 431–898
240Pu 229Th 246Cm 243Am 5–7 ky
4n 245Cmf 250Cm 239Pu f 8–24 ky
233U    f 230Th 231Pa 32–160
234U 4n+3 211–290 99Tc 126Sn 79Se
248Cm 242Pu 340–373 Long-lived fission products
237Np 4n+2 1–2 my 93Zr 135Cs nc➔
236U 4n+1 247Cmf 6–23 107Pd 129I
244Pu 80 my >7% >5% >1% >.1%
232Th 238U 235U    f .7–12by fission product yield

References

See also


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