Isotopes of americium
Despite 243Am being an order of magnitude longer lived than 241Am, the former is harder to obtain than the latter as more of it is present in spent nuclear fuel.
Eighteen radioisotopes of americium, ranging from 229Am to 247Am with the exception of 231Am, have been characterized; another isotope, 223Am, has also been reported but is unconfirmed.
No fission products have a half-lifein the range of 100 a–210 ka ... ... nor beyond 15.7 Ma[7] Americium-241 is the most common isotope of americium in nuclear waste.
Due to the low penetration of alpha radiation, 241Am only poses a health risk when ingested or inhaled.
[16] As for the other americium isotopes, and more generally for all alpha emitters, 243Am is carcinogenic in case of internal contamination after being inhaled or ingested.
243Am also presents a risk of external irradiation associated with the gamma ray emitted by its short-lived decay product 239Np.
Fission percentage is 100 minus shown percentages.
Total rate of transmutation varies greatly by nuclide.
245 Cm– 248 Cm are long-lived with negligible decay.
