Physical Data
- Radiation: Betas - 1899 keV (88%); 822 keV (1%)
- Gamma & Xray -511 keV (178%); 1077 keV (3%)
Half-life
- Physical: 113 hours
- Biological: ~12 years (gallium citrate) varies
- Effective: ~ 1 hour varies
External Hazard
- Exposure rate at 1 cm from 1 mCi is 5375 mR/hr.
- 10 mCi generator should be shielded with 1.5 cm thickness of lead in order to reduce the exposure to 5mR/hr at 1 foot.
- 0.3 cm of lead will reduce the exposure to 0.5 mR/hr at 1'
Internal Hazard
- Critical Organ: Lungs (inhalation), GI tract (ingestion)
Shielding
- 6 mm (0.24 inches) will reduce original exposure 50%
Safety Guidelines
- Use shielding lead or leaded Plexiglas to minimize exposure while handling mCi quantities
- Whole body and ring dosimeters are required.
- Wear a lab coat and disposable gloves.
- Useful in PET scanning.\
updated 1/2013