Selenium-79

⁷⁹Se is a radioisotope of selenium present in spent nuclear fuel and the wastes resulting from reprocessing this fuel. It is one of only 7 long-lived fission products. Its yield is low (about 0.04%) as it it is near the lower end of the mass range for fission products. Its halflife has been variously reported as 650,000 years, 65,000 years, 1.13 million years, 480,000 years, and most recently, 295,000 years[1].

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Se-79 decays by emitting a beta particle with no attendant gamma radiation. The low specific activity and relatively low energy of its beta particle limits the radioactive hazards of this isotope.

See also

• Isotopes of selenium
• ANL factsheet
• Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry