Isotopes of iridium


There are two natural isotopes of iridium, and 34 radioisotopes, the most stable radioisotope being 192Ir with a half-life of 73.83 days, and many nuclear isomers, the most stable of which is 192m2Ir with a half-life of 241 years. All other isomers have half-lives under a year, most under a day.

List of isotopes

Iridium-192

Iridium-192 is a radioactive isotope of iridium, with a half-life of 73.83 days. It decays by emitting beta particles and gamma radiation. About 96% of 192Ir decays occur via emission of β and γ radiation, leading to 192Pt. Some of the β particles are captured by other 192Ir nuclei, which are then converted to 192Os. Electron capture is responsible for the remaining 4% of 192Ir decays. Iridium-192 is normally produced by neutron activation of natural-abundance iridium metal.
Iridium-192 is a very strong gamma ray emitter, with a gamma dose-constant of approximately 1.54 μSv·h−1·MBq−1 at 30 cm, and a specific activity of 341 TBq·g−1. There are seven principal energy packets produced during its disintegration process ranging from just over 0.2 to about 0.6 MeV. Iridium-192 is commonly used as a gamma ray source in industrial radiography to locate flaws in metal components. It is also used in radiotherapy as a radiation source, in particular in brachytherapy.
Iridium-192 has accounted for the majority of cases tracked by the U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission in which radioactive materials have gone missing in quantities large enough to make a dirty bomb.