Production of Radioisotopes

Describe how commercial radioisotopes are produced    

  • Commercial radioisotopes: Radioisotopes that are used in medicine, industry and/or scientific research.
  • Commercial radioisotopes are produced in two main ways:
    • Using neutrons produced in a nuclear fission reactor, such as the production of cobalt-60 (used in medicine) from cobalt-59:
    • Using particle accelerators to fire protons, deuterium atoms (deuterons) or Alpha particles at a target element, such as the production of iodine-123 by the bombardment of xenon atoms with protons:

Easychem - Production of Radioisotopes