Physical Data
- Radiation - Gammas/X-rays: 192 keV (3% abundance); 1099 keV (56%), 1292 keV (44%)
- Beta - 131 keV (1%, 273 keV (46%), 466 keV (53%)
Half-Life
- Physical: 44.5 days
- Biological: ~ 1.7 days (ingestion)
- Effective: ~ 1.7 days (varies)
Range
- Beta: 115 cm in air (unshielded)
External, Skin and Eye Hazard
- Unshielded exposure rate at 1 cm from a 1mC point source; 6.18 R/h
Internal Hazard
- Critical Organ: Spleen, (blood)
Shielding
- 15 mm of lead will reduce original exposure intensity by 50%.
Safety Guidelines
- Wear a lab coat and disposable gloves.
- Whole body and ring dosimeters are required to be worn by individuals working with > 1mCi amount of Fe59.
- Store Fe59 behind lead shielding.
- Practice routine operations to improve dexterity and speed before using Fe59.
Updated 1/2013