Radioactive source

A metal cylinder with a ruler next to it, 3.1cm high
A new sealed cesium-137 radiation source as it appears in its final state

A radioactive source is a known quantity of a radionuclide which emits ionizing radiation, typically one or more of the radiation types gamma rays, alpha particles, beta particles, and neutron radiation.

Sources can be used for irradiation, where the radiation performs a significant ionising function on a target material, or as a radiation metrology source, which is used for the calibration of radiometric process and radiation protection instrumentation. They are also used for industrial process measurements, such as thickness gauging in the paper and steel industries. Sources can be sealed in a container (highly penetrating radiation) or deposited on a surface (weakly penetrating radiation), or they can be in a fluid.

As an irradiation source they are used in medicine for radiation therapy and in industry for such as industrial radiography, food irradiation, sterilization, vermin disinfestation, and irradiation crosslinking of PVC.

Radionuclides are chosen according to the type and character of the radiation they emit, intensity of emission, and the half-life of their decay. Common source radionuclides include cobalt-60,[1] iridium-192,[2] and strontium-90.[3] The SI measurement quantity of source activity is the Becquerel, though the historical unit Curies is still in partial use, such as in the US, despite their NIST strongly advising the use of the SI unit.[4] The SI unit for health purposes is mandatory in the EU.

An irradiation source typically lasts for between 5 and 15 years before its activity drops below useful levels.[5] However sources with long half-life radionuclides when utilised as calibration sources can be used for much longer.

A cutaway diagram of a teletherapy capsule
A cutaway diagram of a radioactive source used for teletherapy (external beam radiotherapy): A key to the lettering can be found on the file page
  1. ^ "C-188 Cobalt-60 Source". Nordion Inc. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Iridium-192". Isoflex. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Radioactive sources: isotopes and availability". Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  4. ^ "NIST Guide to the SI, Chapter 5 (paragraph 5.2)". NIST. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  5. ^ Disposal Options for Disused Radioactive Sources (PDF). International Atomic Energy Agency. 2005. ISBN 92-0-100305-6. ISSN 0074-1914.