Major Category
Physical/Radiation
Description
A man-made radioactive metal with a melting point of 1345 degrees C; Known isotopes have mass numbers of 238-251; Cm-247 is the isotope with the longest half life; [Merck Index # 2675]
Sources/Uses
Cm-242 and Cm-244 are used to power batteries for space and medical devices; Cm-248 is used in research accelerators to produce other elements; [Merck Index #2675] Curium is produced from plutonium and americium by neutron capture in nuclear reactors. Six of the curium isotopes have half-lives longer than 20 years and are defined as transuranic wastes (TRU) produced in nuclear reactors. [Argonne]
Comments
Most Important Radionuclide: Cu-244
Source: Nuclear reactors
Half-Life: 18 years
Effective Half-Life: 16.7 years
Specific Activity: 82 Ci/g
Decay Mode: Alpha
GI Absorption: 0.05%
Lung Clearance Half-Time: Weeks (10-100 days) for all compounds;
Critical Organ: Liver
Internal Toxicity: Very High
Annual Limit on Intake: 0.000001 mCi
Average Radiation Energy (MeV): Alpha 5.8; Beta 0.086; Gamma 0.0017; [Argonne]
[See Glossary for references.] See "Radiation, ionizing."
Half Life
Biological half-life: 20 years (liver) and 50 years (bone); [ANL Radiological Fact Sheets]
Other Information
No other related information on this agent was found.