The Radioactive Nature of Fission Products with a Large Range of Half-Lifes

Fission is a nuclear process in which a large nucleus, like uranium or plutonium, splits into smaller nuclei. This process is commonly seen in nuclear reactors and atomic bombs.
The products of nuclear fission are known as fission products. They are highly unstable and are usually a mix of two smaller atomic nuclei and several free neutrons.
These fission products are radioactive, meaning they release radiation as they seek to become more stable. The types of radiation they can release include alpha particles, beta particles and gamma rays.
Fission products have a large range of half-lives. A half-life is the time taken for half of a sample of a radioactive isotope to decay. It varies greatly among different fission products, ranging from fractions of a second to millions of years.
Isotopes with very short half-lives decay rapidly, releasing a lot of radiation in a short amount of time. Those with long half-lives decay slowly, releasing radiation over a long time period.
Since fission products may have long half-lives, they can pose long-term hazards. For instance, Strontium-90 and Caesium-137 have half-lives of around 30 years, while Plutonium-239 has a half-life of about 24,000 years. These isotopes can present significant problems in terms of both waste management and environmental contamination.
Methods to manage fission products include immobilising them in glass or ceramic, and storing them in carefully monitored repositories. Over time, they decay into non-radioactive elements, but the length of time required depends on the half-life of individual isotopes.
Another important fission product is Iodine-131, which has a half-life of about 8 days. It is a major component of the radiation released in nuclear accidents, and shows why rapid responses are important in such scenarios.
Understanding the radioactive nature and half-life of fission products is crucial to understanding the risks and challenges posed by nuclear energy, as well as the methods used to mitigate these risks.