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1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY) 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED (From - To)

04-05-2007 Technical report 09-2005 – 04 007 -2

5a. CONTRACT NUMBER

DTRA01-03-C-0064 

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

5b. GRANT NUMBER

Bounding Analysis of Effects of Fractionation of Radionuclides in 

Fallout on Estimation of Doses to Atomic Veterans 

5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER

139D 

5d. PROJECT NUMBER

CS 

5e. TASK NUMBER

AH 

6. AUTHOR(S)

John R. Trabalka and David C. Kocher 

5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER

DH11146 

7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION 

Senes Oak Ridge, Inc. REPORT NUMBER

102 Donner Drive 

Oak Ridge, TN 37830 

9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR'S ACRONYM(S)

Defense Threat Reduction Agency 

Nuclear Technologies Directorate 

8725 John J. Kingman Road, STOP 6201 

Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6201

11. SPONSORING/MONITORING 

AGENCY REPORT NUMBER

DTRA-TR-07-5 

12. DISTRIBUTION AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. 

13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

This work was sponsored by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency under RDT&E RMSS Code B 139D K113 CS AH 

111 46 25904 . D

14. ABSTRACT

This report presents a bounding analysis of the effects of fractionation of radionuclides in fallout from atmospheric 

nuclear-weapons tests on reconstructed radiation doses to atomic veterans. All dose reconstructions for atomic 

veterans have been performed by assuming that there was no fractionation of radionuclides in fallout, except for 

removal of noble gases. This report evaluates the potential importance of fractionation in estimating doses to atomic 

veterans by using assumptions that would be expected to maximize effects of fractionation. 

15. SUBJECT TERMS

Nuclear Test Personnel Review, Veterans, Atmospheric Nuclear Weapons Testing, Fallout, Fractionation, Bounding 

Analysis 

16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. IMITATION 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON 

OF BSTRACT 

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OF PAGES 

72

a. EPORT R

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b.

A TRACT BS

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c. THIS 

P E 

19b. TELEPONE NUMBER (Include area code) 

AG

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STANDARD FORM 298 (Rev. 8/98)
ii

ABSTRACT 

This report presents a bounding analysis of the effects of fractionation of radionuclides in 

fallout from atmospheric nuclear-weapons tests on reconstructed radiation doses to atomic 

veterans. All dose reconstructions for atomic veterans have been performed by assuming that 

there was no fractionation of radionuclides in fallout, except for removal of noble gases. Our 

purpose was to evaluate the potential importance of fractionation in estimating doses to atomic 

veterans by using assumptions that would be expected to maximize effects of fractionation. Our 

approach was to (1) assume complete separation of refractory radionuclides from volatile 

radionuclides in local fallout and (2) evaluate the effects of this assumption on doses to 

individuals exposed to fallout containing only refractory radionuclides after decay periods of 

2 days and 4 years compared with doses produced by the same pathways of exposure under an 

assumption of no fractionation. If effects of fractionation on doses are relatively small under 

bounding conditions at early and late times after detonation, more rigorous calculations to assess 

effects of fractionation on doses to atomic veterans would not be needed. Exposure pathways 

considered included external exposure to radionuclides deposited on the skin or ground surface 

and internal exposure to inhaled or ingested radionuclides. The results of our bounding 

calculations indicate that reconstructed doses to atomic veterans that assume no effect of 

fractionation could underestimate actual doses from exposure to fission and activation products 

by less than a factor of two under the most extreme and highly unlikely assumptions about 

fractionation. In many cases, however, the current approach of neglecting fractionation in dose 

reconstructions for atomic veterans probably results in overestimates of doses from exposure to 

fission and activation products if significant enhancement of refractory radionuclides relative to 

volatiles occurred. These conclusions do not include the potential effects of contributions from 

unfissioned plutonium in weapons debris, for which all data are currently classified. However, 

effects of fractionation on doses from plutonium should be bounded by our analysis, provided 

levels of plutonium in unfractionated weapons debris have been accurately characterized in 

carrying out dose reconstructions for atomic veterans. Under these conditions, doses from 

plutonium would likely be underestimated by less than a factor of three. 
iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................... ii 

LIST OF FIGURES...........................................................................................iv 

LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................v 

1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 1 

2. BACKGROUND AND APPROACH ....................................................................................... 3 

3. DATA AND METHODS .......................................................................................................... 6 

3.1 DOSE MODELS AND SOURCES OF DATA .................................................................... 6 

3.2 RADIONUCLIDE INVENTORIES AND DECAY CHAINS ............................................ 9 

3.2.1 Fission Yields and Decay Chains for Fission Products................................................. 9 

3.2.2 Neutron Activation Products.......................................................................................... 9 

3.3 RADIOACTIVE DECAY CALCULATIONS .................................................................. 12 

3.4 EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL DOSE COEFFICIENTS ................................................ 15 

3.4.1 Dose Coefficients for External Exposure ..................................................................... 15 

3.4.1.1 Dose Rate to Skin from Radionuclides Deposited on Body Surface.................... 15 

3.4.1.2 Dose Rate to Skin from Radionuclides Deposited on Ground Surface................ 16 

3.4.1.3 Effective Dose Rate from Radionuclides Deposited on Ground Surface............. 17 

3.4.2 Dose Coefficients for Internal Exposure...................................................................... 17 

3.5 CALCULATIONS OF EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL DOSE ....................................... 19 

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION.............................................................................................. 27 

4.1 Adjusted Fractionation Ratios for Refractory Radionuclides............................................. 27 

4.2 Doses from Unfractionated Mixtures of Fission and Uranium Activation Products ......... 30 

5. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................... 32 

6. REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................... 47 

APPENDIX A: PARAMETERS AND DOSE COEFFICIENTS FOR RADIONUCLIDES 

USED IN CALCULATIONS.............................................................................. ...A-1

DISTRIBUTION LIST....................................................................................DL-1 
iv

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page 

1 Summary of Approach to Bounding Analysis of Effects of Radionuclide 

Fractionation on Estimates of Dose from Different Exposure Pathways 

34 
v

LIST OF TABLES 

Table Page 

1 Fission and activation product radionuclides included in analysis 35

2 Fractionation ratios for external effective dose rates from exposure to 

radionuclides on ground surface for four fission modes and two activation 

scenarios at 2 days after detonation 

36 

3 Adjusted fractionation ratios for external dose rates to skin from exposure to 

radionuclides produced in four fission modes as a function of decay time, 

exposure pathway, and assumed yields of activation products 

37 

4 Adjusted fractionation ratios for 50-y committed effective doses from 

inhalation of radionuclides produced in four fission modes as a function of 

decay time, dose-coefficient selection, and assumed yields of activation 

products 

38 

5 Adjusted fractionation ratios for 50-y committed effective doses from 

ingestion of radionuclides produced in four fission modes as a function of 

decay time, dose-coefficient selection, and assumed yields of activation 

products 

39 

6 Adjusted fractionation ratios for 50-y committed doses to lung from inhalation 

and colon from ingestion by workers of radionuclides produced in four fission 

modes as a function of decay time and assumed yields of activation products 

40 

7 Adjusted fractionation ratios for 50-y committed doses to red marrow from 

inhalation or ingestion by workers of radionuclides produced in four fission 

modes as a function of decay time and assumed yields of activation products 

41 

8 Adjusted fractionation ratios for 50-y committed doses to pancreas from 

inhalation or ingestion by workers of radionuclides produced in four fission 

modes as a function of decay time and assumed yields of activation products 

42 

9 External dose rates (Sv/h) per fission from unfractionated mixtures of 

radionuclides produced in four fission modes as a function of decay time, 

target organ, exposure pathway, and assumed yields of activation products 

43 

10 50-year committed effective doses (Sv) per fission from internal exposure to 

unfractionated mixtures of radionuclides produced in four fission modes as a 

function of decay time, exposure pathway, dose-coefficient selection, and 

assumed yields of activation products 

44 

11 50-year committed effective doses (Sv) per fission to lung from inhalation and 

colon from ingestion by workers of unfractionated mixtures of radionuclides 

produced in four fission modes as a function of decay time, target organ, and 

assumed yields of activation products 

45 

12 50-year committed effective doses (Sv/fission) to red marrow and pancreas 

from inhalation or ingestion by workers of unfractionated mixtures of 

radionuclides produced in four fission modes as a function of decay time and 

assumed yields of activation products 

46 
vi

LIST OF TABLES

(cont.) 

Table Page 

A.1 Half-lives, chemical characteristics, and decay relationships for radionuclides 

used in calculating activity at different times after detonation 

A-2 

A.2 Decay relationships used in calculating activity of I-131 produced in fission A-5 

A.3 Fission yields and activities of radionuclides after 2 days of decay A-6 

A.4 Calculated activities of radionuclides after 4 years of decay A-8 

A.5 Dose coefficients for external exposure and effective dose coefficients for 

internal exposure of members of the public 

A-9 

A.6 Dose coefficients for internal exposure of workers A-12 
1. INTRODUCTION 

In dose reconstructions for atomic veterans, activity concentrations of specific radionuclides 

in fallout deposited on the ground are estimated on the basis of external exposure rates (R/h) that 

were measured within a few days after detonations of nuclear weapons by assuming that there 

was no fractionation of radionuclides, except for removal of noble gases (Egbert et al. 1985; 

NRC 2003). The term “fractionation” refers to the chemical and physical separation of 

radionuclides produced in a nuclear detonation as the fireball cools over time. Thus, assumed 

relative activities of specific radionuclides in fallout are based essentially on estimates of their 

abundances or abundances of their precursor radionuclides in weapons debris shortly after a 

detonation and before fractionation occurred (e.g., see Hicks 1982; Hicks 1990; and references 

therein). For example, relative activities of various fission products in fallout are assumed to be 

determined by known fission yields (atoms per fission) in the different mass chains produced by 

fission of plutonium and/or uranium in a weapon and knowledge of the decay rates (half-lives) of 

radionuclides and precursor-decay product relationships within each mass chain. 

The National Research Council’s Committee to Review the Dose Reconstruction Program of 

the Defense Threat Reduction Agency noted that while fractionation typically alters the relative 

activities of refractory and volatile radionuclides in local fallout by a factor of about 3–4 

compared with initial activities in an atmospheric cloud produced by a nuclear detonation, an 

effect as large as a factor of 100 or greater has been reported (NRC 2003; also see Freiling et al. 

1964). Thus, the committee expressed the concern that activities of plutonium and other 

refractory radionuclides in fallout at locations of exposure of atomic veterans could be 

underestimated substantially when fractionation is not taken into account, especially at the 

Nevada Test Site (NTS), and that activities of volatile radionuclides could be overestimated to a 

similar extent. 

Although questions exist about the potential contribution of fractionation to uncertainty in 

estimated doses to atomic veterans, the limited data on fractionation in weapons fallout do not 

appear sufficient to fully address the concerns. Therefore, we elected to evaluate the potential 

importance of fractionation in estimating doses to atomic veterans by using assumptions that 

would be expected to maximize effects of fractionation. Our analysis is intended to apply 
2

primarily to exposures at locations within a few tens of miles from ground zeros of detonations at 

the NTS, where substantial enhancement of refractory radionuclides, compared with volatiles, in 

fallout occurred. However, the results also are applicable to exposures in the Pacific if 

enhancement of refractories in fallout occurred. We also considered effects of enhancement of 

volatile radionuclides on estimated doses, but these results are not expected to be important to 

exposures of atomic veterans at the NTS or in the Pacific. 

The following section provides additional discussion of the process of fractionation and its 

potential significance in dose reconstructions for atomic veterans, as well as the rationale for the 

approach we used to bound the effects of fractionation on dose. Data sources and equations used 

in the bounding analysis are described in Section 3, and results of our calculations are presented 

and discussed in Section 4. A summary of the results and our conclusions about their 

implications are presented in Section 5. Data used in our analysis are tabulated in Appendix A.
3

2. BACKGROUND AND APPROACH 

Fractionation of radionuclides in fallout is a complex phenomenon (Freiling 1961; Freiling 

1963; Freiling et al. 1965), and data on fractionation in fallout from specific nuclear weapons 

tests do not appear to be extensive. Chemical separation of radionuclides occurs in the first few 

minutes after a detonation as a result of differences in rates of condensation of the various 

elements that initially make up the radioactive materials in a fireball. Refractory materials have 

relatively high boiling points and are largely incorporated in liquid droplets of molten soil and 

iron oxide that form as materials in the fireball from a near-surface explosion cool to about 

3000oC. In contrast, volatile elements are those that have relatively low boiling points or that 

have precursors with low boiling points and remain in the gaseous phase while the fireball cools 

to about 1500o

C and the liquid droplets solidify. As the cloud cools to ambient temperature 

(~50oC), volatile elements (except for the noble gases Kr and Xe) and their decay products 

condense on the surfaces of particles. Radionuclides that exhibit the largest fractionation effects 

in fallout are those that have short-lived isotopes of Kr and Xe as precursors; those radionuclides 

include, for example, Sr-89, Sr-90, and Cs-137 (Hicks 1982; NRC 2003). 

Physical separation of fission products occurs as a result of differences in the settling 

velocities of small and large particles in the atmosphere. Fallout close to ground zero consists 

mostly of relatively large particles that contain a higher proportion of refractory materials, 

whereas fallout at more distant locations consists mostly of relatively small particles that contain 

a larger proportion of volatile radionuclides (NRC 2003). 

An assumption of no fractionation (other than removal of noble gases) in fallout should 

result in overestimates of the concentrations of volatile radionuclides deposited on the ground at 

locations of exposure of atomic veterans but underestimates of refractory radionuclides, because 

participants at the NTS and the Pacific Proving Grounds usually were exposed at locations where 

fallout was dominated by larger particles that should have contained a higher proportion of 

refractory radionuclides (NRC 2003). An assumption of no fractionation also does not account 

for differential fractionation of the volatile radionuclides Sr-89, Sr-90, and Cs-137, which results 

from differences in the half-lives of their noble-gas precursors (NRC 2003). 

A simplified and idealized description of fractionation is given by Hicks (1982). Hicks 

assumed that mass chains of fission products produced by nuclear detonations are either all 
4

refractory (mass chains 92–100 and 142–180) or all volatile (75–90 and 101–139), except for 

mass chains 91, 140, and 141, which he characterized as having precursors that exhibit volatile 

and refractory behavior. Hicks also classified activation products in mass chains 181–203 as 

volatile and those in mass chains 7–74 and 204–242 as refractory, while noting that there were 

no known volatile radionuclides within the latter two mass ranges. 

For purposes of estimating concentrations of radionuclides in fallout at locations far from 

the NTS, Hicks (1982) also concluded that the limited data on fractionation were consistent with 

a 50% removal of refractory radionuclides but no removal of volatiles in fallout within 160 miles 

of ground zero. However, no data on the extent of fractionation in fallout from NTS shots were 

reported for distances less than 5–15 miles from ground zero, which is a region of interest in 

dose reconstructions for atomic veterans at the NTS. Data presented by Hicks, which show that 

volatile/refractory ratios increased with increasing distance and with decreasing particle size, 

indicate that concentrations of refractories relative to volatiles had to be elevated within the 

region closest to ground zero.1

 Indeed, Hicks’ conclusion would imply that at some point close 

to ground zero, fallout would have consisted almost entirely of refractory radionuclides, which 

typically are incorporated within the volume of larger fallout particles, and it suggests that a 

bounding analysis of effects of fractionation on estimated doses to atomic veterans that assumes 

complete separation of refractory and volatile radionuclides in local fallout is not unreasonable. 

Given the paucity of data on fractionation of radionuclides in fallout at locations of 

exposure of atomic veterans at the NTS, our approach was to (1) assume complete separation of 

refractory radionuclides from volatile radionuclides in local fallout and (2) evaluate the effects of 

this assumption on estimated doses to individuals exposed to fallout containing only refractory 

radionuclides compared with doses produced by the same pathways of exposure under an 

assumption of no fractionation, as is currently used in dose reconstructions for atomic veterans.

Our reasoning was that if effects of fractionation on doses, in contrast to relative activities of 

individual radionuclides or groupings of radionuclides, are relatively small under such 

conditions, more rigorous calculations to assess effects of fractionation on doses to atomic 

veterans would not be needed. 

 

1 The study that provided the primary source of data used by Hicks (Larson et al. 1966) also showed 

significant fractionation of Sr-89 from Sr-90 in close-in fallout from tower shots (defined as fallout that 

occurred in the zone beginning at one mile from ground zero and continuing out to the distance at which 

fallout arrived at 12 hours after detonation). 
5

In dose reconstructions for atomic veterans, relative concentrations of fission products in 

fallout from fission of Pu-239, U-235, and U-238 by fast and high-energy (14-MeV) neutrons are 

obtained by combining classified data on yields of nuclear weapons from different fission modes 

with unfractionated fission product inventories for each fission mode provided by the computer 

program FIIDOS (Egbert et al. 1985). Fission product inventories in FIIDOS were calculated 

with the isotope generation and depletion code ORIGEN2 by assuming an instantaneous 

(2 msec) irradiation time. Each inventory includes the activities of 148 radionuclides potentially 

produced in fission. For a particular nuclear test, those inventories are adjusted based on the 

fraction of the total fissions attributable to a given fission mode (e.g., from fast neutron fission of 

U-235), as obtained from yield data specific to that test. Each fission product inventory is 

calculated at 40 decay times ranging from 3 minutes to 70 years (Egbert et al. 1985). 

Data on the amounts of activation products and actinides initially produced by a weapon are 

supplied by the user of the FIIDOS code. Inventories of individual activation products and 

actinides are normalized to 1014 fissions and calculated at the decay times just described. 

For calculations involving fallout deposited on the ground, 13 isotopes of Kr and Xe are 

removed from the radionuclide inventory. Provisions to modify the radionuclide composition to 

reflect fission product fractionation are included in the FIIDOS code but reportedly have not 

been used in dose reconstructions for atomic veterans (Egbert et al. 1985; NRC 2003). 

Since we lacked access to the FIIDOS or ORIGEN2 codes, we performed simplified 

calculations to estimate radionuclide inventories and doses for various exposure pathways using 

spreadsheet models. The pathways considered included external exposure to radionuclides 

deposited on the skin or ground surface and internal exposure to inhaled or ingested 

radionuclides (see Section 3). Calculations were performed for post-detonation times of 2 days 

and 4 years, which we assume can be used to bound the effects of fractionation in fresh fallout 

and in aged fallout, respectively. The results at 2 days are relevant to evaluating the effects of 

fractionation on estimates of concentrations of radionuclides on the ground surface, because 

photon exposure rates in air on which those estimates were based were measured at times within 

a few days after detonation. Results at 4 years are relevant to certain scenarios for inhalation 

exposure of atomic veterans at the NTS that involved unusually high resuspension of aged 

fallout, either by the precursor or blast wave produced in a detonation or by participation in 

certain types of maneuvers (e.g., helicopter landings) (NRC 2003; Kocher et al. 2005). 
6

3. DATA AND METHODS 

3.1 DOSE MODELS AND SOURCES OF DATA 

We carried out a series of simplified calculations based on an assumption that local fallout 

contained only refractory radionuclides for the purpose of estimating doses resulting from 

various pathways of internal and external exposure to fission products and a limited suite of 

neutron activation products produced by detonation of nuclear weapons compared with doses 

that would result by assuming that fallout was unfractionated. 

To perform the calculations needed for our evaluation of the effects of fractionation on 

estimates of dose to atomic veterans, we utilized five sets of information: 

• Fission yields of radionuclides from four fission modes in nuclear weapons: 

3⁄4 U-235 by fission neutrons. 

3⁄4 Pu-239 by fission neutrons. 

3⁄4 U-238 by fission neutrons. 

3⁄4 U-238 by 14.7 MeV neutrons. 

• Yields of neutron activation products. 

• Data on decay chains for fission and neutron activation products. 

• Dose coefficients for internal exposure to radionuclides via inhalation or ingestion (i.e., 

committed doses per unit activity intake): 

3⁄4 Effective doses from inhalation or ingestion, which give a sum of weighted 

equivalent doses in various organs and tissues of the body (ICRP 1991). 

3⁄4 Doses to the lung, red marrow, and pancreas from inhalation. 

3⁄4 Doses to the colon, red marrow, and pancreas from ingestion. 

• Dose coefficients for three pathways of external exposure to radionuclides (i.e., dose 

rates per unit activity concentration in specified source region): 

3⁄4 Dose to the skin from electrons emitted by radionuclides deposited on the skin. 

3⁄4 Dose to the skin from electrons emitted by radionuclides deposited on the ground. 

3⁄4 Effective dose equivalent from photons emitted by radionuclides deposited on the 

ground. 

• Hicks’ (1982) categorization of volatile and refractory radionuclides (see Section 2). 
7

The types and sources of this information are discussed in Sections 3.2–3.4. An emphasis on 

external exposure of the skin to electrons emitted by radionuclides deposited on skin or on the 

ground reflects the importance of skin cancers in claims for compensation by atomic veterans. 

In performing the calculations, we eliminated parameters that were not needed in assessing 

effects of fractionation on dose, so that results would not be confounded by uncertainties in other 

parameters (e.g., inhalable fraction, resuspension factor) used in dose calculations for specific 

pathways. The importance of uncertainties in such parameters in assessing doses to atomic 

veterans is evaluated in other studies (e.g., see Apostoaei and Kocher 2005; Kocher et al. 2005). 

The basic equations used in the dose calculations are the following: 

Ai,j = SAi × FYi,j × [BDFi × BRi], (1)

where 

Ai,j = activity of radionuclide i per fission in fission mode j (Bq/fission), 

SAi = specific activity of radionuclide i or appropriate precursor (Bq/atom), 

FYi,j = fission yield of radionuclide i or appropriate precursor in fission mode j 

(atom/fission), 

BDFi = buildup-decay factor for radionuclide i (dimensionless), 

BRi = branching ratio for production of radionuclide i in decay of precursor 

(dimensionless).2

Di,j = Ai,j × DFi (2) 

where 

Di,j = effective dose from intake of radionuclide i produced in fission mode j 

(Sv/fission), 

Ai,j = activity of radionuclide i per fission (Bq/fission) in fission mode j [see 

equation (1)], which is activity assumed to be inhaled or ingested, 

DFi = effective dose per unit activity intake of radionuclide i by inhalation or 

ingestion (Sv/Bq). 

 

2

 The activity of some radionuclides represents the sum of activities resulting from decays of precursors 

with two decay modes (i.e., with different buildup-decay factors and branching ratios) and, in several 

cases, from decays of several precursors with independent fission yields (e.g., I-131); see discussion in 

Section 3.3 and data in Appendix A, Tables A.1 and A.2. 
8

Di,j,k = Ai,j × DFi,k (3)

where 

Di,j,k = equivalent dose to organ/tissue k from intake of radionuclide i produced in 

fission mode j (Sv/fission), 

Ai,j = activity of radionuclide i per fission (Bq/fission) in fission mode j [see 

equation (1)], which is activity assumed to be inhaled or ingested, 

DFi,k = equivalent dose to organ/tissue k per unit activity intake of radionuclide i 

by inhalation or ingestion (Sv/Bq). 

Di,j,m = Ai,j × DFi,m, (4) 

where 

Di,j,m = dose rate to skin or whole body from external exposure to radionuclide i 

produced in fission mode j via exposure pathway m, which is assumed to 

be exposure to contaminated skin or ground surface (Sv/h per fission/cm2), 

Ai,j = activity of radionuclide i per fission (Bq/fission) in fission mode j [see 

equation (1)], which is assumed to be activity per unit concentration on 

skin or ground surface, 

DFi,m = dose rate to skin or whole body per unit activity concentration of 

radionuclide i on skin or ground surface (Sv/h per Bq/cm2). 

In equation (4), the dose rate to the whole body from external exposure to a contaminated ground 

surface is assumed to be given by the effective dose rate. As noted previously, dose rates to skin 

are dose rates from external exposure to electrons only. 

Similar calculations were performed for neutron activation products. For each pathway and 

fission mode, doses from individual radionuclides in three groupings (refractories, volatiles, and 

unfractionated mixtures) were then summed. The values for the parameters used are given in 

Tables A.1–A.6 of Appendix A and the overall approach is shown schematically in Figure 1. 

Further details of the dose calculations and use of the results to evaluate the effects of 

fractionation are given in Section 3.5. 
9

3.2 RADIONUCLIDE INVENTORIES AND DECAY CHAINS 

3.2.1 Fission Yields and Decay Chains for Fission Products

Information on decay chains and yields of fission products was obtained from England and 

Rider (1994) for four fission modes: U-235 by fission neutrons (U-235 nf), Pu-239 by fission 

neutrons (Pu-239 nf), U-238 by fission neutrons (U-238 nf), and U-238 by 14.7-MeV neutrons 

(U-238 n14). These data were expected to represent the principal fission modes of interest in 

assessing doses from exposure to weapons fallout. In the absence of actual or generic nuclear 

weapons yield data, we were not able to estimate the fractional contributions of each fission 

mode to the total fission yield for specific shots. Thus, we performed four independent sets of 

calculations using these data, one for each fission mode. Fission yield data for specific 

radionuclides used in the calculations are shown in Tables A.3 and A.4 of Appendix A. 

Fission products with half-lives of 2.4 hours or less were not included unless they were 

required in calculating the activities of longer-lived decay products (e.g., 23-min Sb-131, 2.1-h 

Sn-127) or they were decay products of long-lived radionuclides (see Section 3.3and listing of 

half-lives in Table A.1 of Appendix A). Radionuclides with half-lives greater than 104

 years 

(e.g., 6.5 × 104-y Se-79) also were excluded because they were expected to make negligible 

contributions to doses and dose rates in the time frames considered, due to their low specific 

activities. Noble-gas fission products (isotopes of Kr and Xe) were excluded regardless of halflife because they were not present in fallout. Radionuclides with fission yields less than 10-6 were 

excluded unless the yield for at least one of the four fission modes exceeded 10-6 (e.g., Cd-113m, 

I-130). Finally, contributions from 7.4-min Pr-144m, which is a decay product of Ce-144, were 

ignored because that radionuclide contributes negligibly to internal and external doses from 

exposure to Ce-144 and its decay product Pr-144. 

3.2.2 Neutron Activation Products

In contrast to the situation for fission products, there is much less published information on 

yields of activation products from nuclear detonations. Published data for specific activation 

products produced by individual nuclear detonations are limited to activation products in 

weapons debris, and those data that are available appear to be highly variable (e.g., see 
10

Morgenthau et al. 1957; Hicks 1981). Hicks (1982) assumed a yield of one atom of each 

activation product per fission in his calculations. Calculations presented in this report that 

include neutron activation products consider U-237 and U-239–Np-239 only. However, as 

indicated by later discussions in Section 4.1, we believe that calculations that include uranium 

activation products are sufficient to fully support a bounding analysis of the effects of 

fractionation on reconstructed doses to atomic veterans. 

Yields of U-237 and U-239─Np-239 in one set of calculations for all fission modes (fission 

products + U, 2-d decay) were based on activation estimates of 0.15 atoms/fission for U-237 and 

0.30 atoms/fission for U-239 in fallout resulting from Shot BRAVO, which was a test of a 

thermonuclear weapon (Miller 1964). Based on the results for effective dose rates from exposure 

to radionuclides on the ground surface that include U-237 and U-239 at the stated levels (see 

Section 4.1), however, it appears that the activation estimates from the Shot BRAVO data cited 

by Miller (1964) may not be representative of levels in fallout from many thermonuclear 

weapons tests. Decay of U-237 and Np-239 in fallout from thermonuclear weapons reportedly 

can contribute 50% or more of the total gamma radiation level at times of a few days after 

detonation (Miller 1959; Barss 2000). However, results of calculations based on the Shot 

BRAVO data yield an increase in the effective dose rate from ground deposition of fallout, 

which is a reasonable surrogate for external gamma radiation level, of only about 14% compared 

with calculations that include fission products only. The yield of Na-24, which is the other 

principal activation product in weapons debris, and its contribution to the external exposure rate 

was found to be small in comparison with uranium activation products and fission products 

produced in fission and thermonuclear devices tested in the Pacific (Miller 1959). 

Data on Np-239 levels in fallout following several weapons tests conducted during 

Operation REDWING in May–July 1956 at the Pacific Proving Grounds were provided by 

Morgenthau et al. (1957). Measurements of Mo-99 (a refractory fission product) and Np-239 

(also considered to be refractory) were used to estimate the yields of Np-239 per fission in fallout 

from three tests. Values ranged from about 0.2 atoms/fission for fallout from Shot LACROSSE 

(40 kt) to about 0.5–1 atoms/fission (including uncertainties) for Shots ZUNI (3.5 Mt) and 

FLATHEAD (also presumed to be a multi-Mt device, although no yield was provided in any 

reference available to us, e.g., Zander and Araskog 1973; Moghissi and Carter 1977). Thus, we 

performed another set of calculations for all fission modes by assuming elevated levels of 
11

uranium activation products (fission products + 3.3 × U, 2-d decay); the yield of Np-239 in those 

calculations was increased from 0.3 to 1 atom/fission, and the yield of U-237, which was not 

measured in the fallout studies at Operation REDWING, was increased to 0.5 atoms/fission 

based on its relative abundance in the Shot BRAVO fallout data. These increases resulted in an 

increase in the effective dose rate from ground deposition of fallout of about 50% compared with 

calculations that include only fission products, in better agreement with the expected 

contribution of uranium activation products to gamma radiation levels in fallout from 

thermonuclear weapons tests. 

Although calculations were performed for all fission modes using the two sets of U-237 and 

Np-239 data described above, much of the data are strictly applicable only to activation of U-238 

in the uranium tamper of a thermonuclear weapon, for which the principal source of neutrons is 

expected to be fusion reactions (~14 MeV) and fission of U-238 by ~14-MeV and fission 

neutrons. However, a complete set of results for all four fission modes was included because 

they show that (1) assumptions about relative contributions from other fission modes have little 

or no effect on conclusions about effects of fractionation obtained from comparisons of 

estimated doses for U-238 n14 fission alone and (2) results of calculations that include Np-239 

and U-237 appear to bound the effects of fractionation that would be obtained on the basis of 

other assumptions about quantities of activation products (see Section 4.1). 

Comparisons of data provided by Hicks (1981) on Np-239, U-237, and Mo-99 activity levels 

in fallout from four detonations of fission weapons conducted during Operation PLUMBBOB in 

1957 [BOLTZMANN (12 kt), FRANKLIN (0.14 kt), PRISCILLA (37 kt), and WILSON (10 kt)] 

suggest that the yield of Np-239 in these tests was less than about 0.1 atoms/fission, and that the 

yield of U-237 was an order of magnitude lower. We did not have access to all the data on tests 

at the NTS that have been compiled in the series of reports by Hicks. However, coupled with the 

data on the yield of Np-239 (about 0.2 atoms/fission) in Shot LACROSSE (40 kt) at Operation 

REDWING and additional data on the relative importance of activation products given by Hicks 

(1982), it would appear that the data for Shot BRAVO might be a useful surrogate (i.e., perhaps 

close to an upper bound) for levels of uranium activation products in fallout from weapons tests 

at the NTS. Neptunium-239 reportedly was the primary source of gamma radiation among the 

activation products in those tests, contributing up to 20% of external gamma radiation levels 

from early fallout (e.g., in fallout from Shots HARRY and SMOKY; Hicks et al. 1982). Such 
12

levels are comparable to those produced by U-237 and Np-239 combined in fallout from Shot 

BRAVO, as discussed above. 

Uranium-237 and Np-239 were not included in calculations in which a 4-year decay period 

was assumed because of their very short half-lives (both less than 10 days). Other short-lived 

uranium activation products that could be considered at 2 days are U-240 and Np-240m. 

However, available information (e.g., Hicks 1981) indicates that yields of these radionuclides 

were typically 1–2 orders of magnitude less than yields of U-237 or U-239–Np-239. 

The effects of not including activation products in weapons debris other than those of 

uranium are not expected to be substantial, because data reported by Hicks (1982) indicate that 

contributions to photon exposure rates in air from other activation products in fallout at the NTS 

were less than exposure rates from Np-239. For example, the contribution to exposure rates from 

Co-60, which is the next most important activation product, was 10% or less (Hicks 1982). A 

check of the NTS data for 25 detonations (tower shots, balloon shots, air bursts) by Hicks (1982) 

reportedly showed that contributions of more than 1% to the total gamma radiation levels were 

due to only three activation products: Co-60, U-237, and Np-239. Contributions from other 

activation products to other exposure pathways, such as inhalation, should be of the same order 

of magnitude. However, additional calculations could be performed to include such materials if 

so desired. 

3.3 RADIOACTIVE DECAY CALCULATIONS 

Calculations of activities (in units of Bq/fission) of each fission and uranium activation 

product were performed for each of the four fission modes, as indicated in Figure 1, using an 

EXCEL spreadsheet program. Initial activities were corrected for radioactive decay over times 

after detonation times of 2 days and 4 years. Analyses at these times are expected to provide 

representative information on conditions at times of interest in exposures of atomic veterans. 

Two sets of calculations included assumed activities of uranium activation products, as 

estimated from yields in tests conducted in the Pacific (see Section 3.2.2), and the other set of 

calculations included only data on yields of fission products. Parameters used in the decay 

calculations are given in Tables A.1 and A.2 of Appendix A, along with calculated buildupdecay factors and decay branching ratios with values less than 1. 
13

Because we did not have access to a sophisticated isotope generation and depletion code, 

such as ORIGEN2, as used in FIIDOS (Egbert et al. 1985), we calculated buildup and decay of 

radionuclides in decay chains directly using the Bateman equations, as described in Evans 

(1955). This approach can be problematic when a mass chain has decay products with significant 

fission yields independent of yields of the parent or other precursor radionuclides (see Table A.3 

of Appendix A) and calculations involving decay chains longer than three radionuclides can be 

difficult to perform analytically. Thus, as described below, simplifications were employed to 

reduce the complexity of decay-chain calculations or eliminate radionuclides that were not 

expected to be significant contributors to fission product activity. 

• As noted in Section 3.2.1, radionuclides with half-lives less than 2.4 hours were not 

included in calculations unless they are decay products of radionuclides with half-lives of 

2.4 hours or greater. The rationale for this choice was that more than 10 half-lives would 

have elapsed in the 2-day decay period assumed in the first set of calculations. Likewise, 

radionuclides with half-lives less than 30 days were not included in the calculations at 

4 years unless they are decay products in secular equilibrium with longer-lived parents. 

Radionuclides with half-lives greater than 104

 years also were excluded, as noted in 

Section 3.2.1, due to their very low activities per fission compared with shorter-lived 

radionuclides. 

• Effects on yields and activities due to decay of short-lived precursors with half-lives less 

than 10 minutes were ignored, because the effects were expected to be negligible. 

• In the following three cases, consideration of four-member decay chains was required: 

3⁄4 10-min Y-95 → 64.02-d Zr-95 → 86.6-h Nb-95m → 35.06-d Nb-95 

3⁄4 2.1-h Sn-127 → 3.85-d Sb-127 → 109-d Te-127m → 9.35-h Te-127 

3⁄4 23-min Sb-131 → 30-h Te-131m → 25-min Te-131 → 8.04-d I-131. 

Calculations at 2 days for the first two cases were simplified by reducing the decay period 

by an amount equal to the time of maximum buildup of the decay product of the first 

radionuclide in the decay chain, which is given by tmax = ln (λA/λB)/(λB – λA), where λA 

and λB are the decay constants for the first and second radionuclides in the decay chains, 

respectively (Evans 1955). Thus, the decay periods in the 2-day calculations were 

reduced by 2.2 hours for Zr-95 and by 11.7 hours for Sb-127, to 45.8 hours and 
14

36.3 hours, respectively. In the third case, the branching ratio for the portion of the decay 

pathway from 30-h Te-131m to 8.04-d I-131 was increased from 0.778 to 1 to account for 

the contribution from intermediate decay of 25-min Te-131. This simplification is 

expected to have a negligible influence on the results because the half-life of Te-131 is 

about 1% of that for Te-131m and about 0.2% of that for I-131 (see Table A.2 of 

Appendix A). 

• Ag-111 is fed by decays of 5.5-h Pd-111m and 23-min Pd-111, both of which originate 

from decay of the fission product 11-s Rh-111. Because the branching ratio from Rh-111 

to Pd-111m is <0.5%, the presence of Pd-111m and its decay products, 23-min Pd-111 

and 74-s Ag-111m, was ignored in mass chain 111, and Pd-111m was not included in the 

calculations even though its half-life is greater than 2.4 hours. A similar simplification 

apparently is employed in the FIIDOS code (see Table 7 in Egbert et al. 1985). 

These types of assumptions and simplifications are not expected to have a significant impact 

on the results of our analysis. For example, results from the present exercise were not 

significantly different than those from a preliminary set of calculations we performed that did not 

include decay chain calculations for any precursor with a half-life less than 2.4 hours. If greater 

rigor is desired, we would need access to a computer program, such as ORIGEN2, to calculate 

the formation, buildup, and decay of fission products, along with weapons yield data for different 

fission modes. 

Using the approaches described in Section 2.1 and this section, the total number of fission 

products was reduced to 79 in the 2-day calculations and to 27 in the 4-year calculations. 

Radionuclides (fission and activation products) included in the calculations at 2 days and 4 years 

are listed in Table 1. 
15

3.4 EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL DOSE COEFFICIENTS 

3.4.1 Dose Coefficients for External Exposure

As discussed in Section 3.1, we performed dose calculations for three pathways of external 

exposure using equation (4). External dose coefficients for the 79 fission products and two 

activation products included in our analysis were obtained from the published literature for the 

following exposure pathways: 

• Exposure of the skin to electrons emitted by radionuclides deposited on the surface of the 

body; 

• Exposure of the skin to electrons emitted by radionuclides deposited on the ground 

surface; 

• Exposure of the whole body to photons emitted by radionuclides deposited on the ground 

surface. 

These pathways were selected because skin can receive the largest dose from exposure to 

radionuclides deposited on the body surface or ground and the effective dose rate resulting from 

photons emitted by radionuclides deposited on the ground is a reasonable surrogate for the 

photon exposure rate in air, which is used to calculate concentrations of radionuclides in fallout 

in dose reconstructions for atomic veterans (Barrett et al. 1986; NRC 2003). However, only the 

results at 2 days are relevant to evaluating the effects of fractionation on estimates of 

concentrations of radionuclides on the ground surface, because photon exposure rates in air on 

which those estimates were based were measured within a few days after detonation. Doses to 

skin from exposure to photons emitted by radionuclides deposited on the body surface or ground 

are not included because they are unimportant whenever a radionuclide emits significant 

intensities of electrons, primarily beta particles, of energy sufficient to irradiate tissue at a depth 

of 7 mg/cm2

. 

3.4.1.1 Dose Rate to Skin from Radionuclides Deposited on Body Surface. 

Dose coefficients for exposure of the skin to electrons emitted by radionuclides deposited on 

the surface of the body were obtained from Table 1 in Kocher and Eckerman (1987). Those dose 

coefficients apply to irradiation of tissue at a depth of 7 mg cm-2, and they were calculated by 
16

assuming that sources are distributed uniformly on the body surface.3

 However, Kocher and 

Eckerman (1987) did not provide dose coefficients for the following 27, mainly shorter-lived, 

radionuclides included in our calculations: Ge-77, As-77, Y-91m, Sr-92, Y-92, Y-93, Pd-109, 

Ag-111, Ag-112, Ag-113, Cd-115, In-115m, Sn-121, Sn-123, Sn-125, Sb-128, I-130, La-141, Pr145, Pm-149, Pm-151, Sm-153, Sm-156, Eu-156, Eu-157, Gd-159, and U-237. Dose coefficients 

for these radionuclides were estimated by interpolation of values in Kocher and Eckerman 

(1987) for radionuclides with similar average or maximum beta energies. Interpolations were 

based on maximum beta energies when average beta energies were not available. Average beta 

energies were obtained from Kocher (1980), and maximum beta energies were obtained from 

Kocher (1981) or Firestone (1996).

Dose coefficients obtained from data in Kocher and Eckerman (1987) in units of Sv/y per 

Bq/cm2 were converted to units of Sv/h per Bq/cm2 by dividing by 8760. Dose coefficients for 

exposure of the skin to electrons emitted by radionuclides deposited on the surface of the body 

used in our analysis are given in Table A.5 of Appendix A. 

3.4.1.2 Dose Rate to Skin from Radionuclides Deposited on Ground Surface. 

Dose coefficients for exposure of the skin to electrons emitted by radionuclides deposited on 

the ground surface were obtained from Table III.3 in Eckerman and Ryman (1993). Those dose 

coefficients were calculated at a height of 1 m above ground and assume exposure to an infinite 

and uniformly contaminated plane source. However, the compilation by Eckerman and Ryman 

(1993) does not include two radionuclides considered in our analysis: Pd-112 and Ag-113. Dose 

coefficients for these two radionuclides were estimated by interpolation of values in Eckerman 

and Ryman (1993) for radionuclides with similar decay schemes. In the case of Pd-112, dose 

coefficients for Pd-113 and Cf-253 were summed to obtain a suitable surrogate and, for Ag-113, 

dose coefficients for Ag-110 and Sm-153 were summed. These summations were required 

because decay schemes of single radionuclides alone were insufficiently representative of the 

decay schemes of Pd-112 and Ag-113. 

 

3 An assumption of uniform contamination over the body is not a serious limitation in using dose 

coefficients calculated by Kocher and Eckerman (1987). As a result of the short range of electrons in 

tissue, a surface area as small as 15 cm2

 is effectively infinite in extent with respect to estimating electron 

dose to skin at depths below the center of a contaminated area. 
17

Dose coefficients obtained from data in Eckerman and Ryman (1993) in units of Sv/s per 

Bq/m2 were converted to units of Sv/h per Bq/cm2 by multiplying by 3.6 × 107. Dose coefficients 

for exposure of the skin to electrons emitted by radionuclides deposited on the ground surface 

used in our analysis are given in Table A.5 of Appendix A. 

3.4.1.3 Effective Dose Rate from Radionuclides Deposited on Ground Surface. 

Effective dose coefficients for exposure to photons emitted by radionuclides deposited on 

the ground surface also were obtained from Table III.3 in Eckerman and Ryman (1993). Those 

dose coefficients again were calculated at a height of 1 m above ground and assume exposure to 

an infinite and uniformly contaminated plane source. As discussed in the previous section, dose 

coefficients in Eckerman and Ryman (1993) do not include values for Pd-112 and Ag-113, and 

dose coefficients for these radionuclides again were estimated by interpolation of values for 

other radionuclides. 

Dose coefficients obtained from data in Eckerman and Ryman (1993) in units of Sv/s per 

Bq/m2

 again were converted to units of Sv/h per Bq/cm2 by multiplying by 3.6 × 107. Effective 

dose coefficients for exposure to photons emitted by radionuclides deposited on the ground 

surface used in our analysis are listed in Table A.5 of Appendix A. 

3.4.2 Dose Coefficients for Internal Exposure

All dose coefficients for inhalation or ingestion of radionuclides used in dose 

reconstructions for atomic veterans are 50-year committed doses, i.e., equivalent doses delivered 

to specific organs or tissues over 50 years following a single intake. Those dose coefficients were 

obtained from Publication 30 of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP 

1979) or from reports by Killough et al. (1978) and Dunning et al. (1979), which used dosimetric 

and biokinetic models similar to those in ICRP Publication 30. 

In our analysis, we used organ-specific internal dose coefficients for all radionuclides listed 

in Table 1 that were calculated using dosimetric and biokinetic models currently recommended 

by the ICRP (1994a; 1996; and references therein) and were obtained from an available compact 

disc (ICRP 2002). These dose coefficients are intended to supersede values calculated using 
18

models in ICRP Publication 30 (ICRP 1979). Dose coefficients for adult workers in ICRP 

Publication 68 (ICRP 1994a) and adult members of the public in ICRP Publication 72 (ICRP 

1996) were used. Although dose coefficients for workers may be more appropriate for exposures 

of atomic veterans, use of both sets of data ensures that potential effects of fractionation on 

estimated inhalation and ingestion doses were fully considered. Because it was impractical to 

perform calculations of internal dose to all organs and tissues, we selected a few organs that are 

expected to be important in inhalation and ingestion exposures, as described below. We also 

performed calculations using effective dose coefficients to provide a measure of the effects of 

fractionation on a weighted average of doses to many organs and tissues. 

Doses to atomic veterans from ingestion of radionuclides are expected to be small in nearly 

all cases (NRC 2003). However, in the model of the respiratory tract used in dose reconstructions 

(ICRP 1979), dose coefficients for inhalation of particles with an activity median aerodynamic 

diameter (AMAD) of 20 μm, which are used in dose reconstructions when this choice results in a 

higher estimate of dose to a tissue or organ of concern (NRC 2003), are essentially the same as 

dose coefficients for ingestion, because about 95% of the inhaled material is assumed to be 

transferred to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract by swallowing.4

 Thus, we included doses from 

ingestion of radionuclides, as well as inhalation, in our evaluation of potential effects of 

fractionation on estimated doses. 

For each intake pathway, we used dose coefficients for three organs or tissues: lung, red 

marrow, and pancreas for inhalation; and colon, red marrow, and pancreas for ingestion. The 

lung and the colon usually are the organs that receive the highest dose from inhalation of smaller 

particles (AMAD 1 μm) and ingestion (or inhalation of large particles), respectively, when 

radionuclides are largely insoluble, as is typically the case in local fallout.5

 Red marrow was 

included because of the presence of a significant number of bone-seeking radionuclides in fallout 

and the association between exposure of red marrow and leukemia. The pancreas was included 

as a surrogate for the prostate, which is a frequent cancer site in claims for compensation by 

atomic veterans; both organs are assigned to the Remainder Tissues category by the ICRP for 

 

4 In the ICRP’s current lung model (ICRP, 1994b), only about 25% of large particles inhaled is assumed 

to be transferred to the GI tract by swallowing. 

5 In dose reconstructions for atomic veterans, all inhaled or ingested radionuclides are assumed to be in 

oxide form (Egbert et al. 1985); such forms are relatively insoluble for all elements of concern except Sr. 
19

purposes of calculating effective doses and should have similar internal dose coefficients when 

they are not major sites of deposition of radionuclides of potential importance in fallout. 

Lung absorption types appropriate for radionuclides in oxide form, as given in Annex F of 

ICRP (2002), were used to select inhalation dose coefficients, and GI-tract absorption fractions 

(f1) appropriate for radionuclides in oxide form, as given in Annex E of ICRP (2002), were used 

to guide the selection of ingestion dose coefficients. In the case of uranium, which has more than 

two potential oxide forms, dose coefficients that apply to UO2 and U3O8 were selected. 

Because internal dose coefficients for Pd-112 and Ag-113 were not included in ICRP 

(2002), values used in our analysis were estimated on the basis of dose coefficients for other 

radioisotopes of the same elements. In the case of Pd-112, which has a decay scheme different 

from other radioisotopes of Pd (Firestone 1996; see also Section 3.4.1.2), we used dose 

coefficients for Pd-100 because they are the highest of the values for any radioisotope of Pd 

included in ICRP (2002) and, thus, should be a suitably conservative surrogate. Dose coefficients 

for Ag-113 were estimated by dividing values for Ag-112 by a factor of two. This approximation 

is reasonable when the half-lives of the two radioisotopes are similar (5.3 hours vs 3.13 hours; 

Firestone 1996) but the maximum beta energy of Ag-112 is about twice that of Ag-113 

(3.956 MeV vs 2.016 MeV; Firestone 1996). 

Organ- or tissue-specific dose coefficients for inhalation and ingestion of radionuclides used 

in our analysis are given in Table A.6 of Appendix A and effective dose coefficients are given in 

Table A.5. 

3.5 CALCULATIONS OF EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL DOSE 

The first step in the bounding analysis was the calculation of doses per fission from external 

and internal exposures to fission products and a limited set of uranium activation products in 

fallout for each assumption about the extent of fractionation in fallout. These calculations were 

performed for each of four cases: 

• Exposure to 79 fission products at 2 days after detonation; 

• Exposure to 79 fission products and levels of two uranium activation products derived 

from data at Shot BRAVO at 2 days after detonation (see Section 3.2.2); 
20

• Exposure to 79 fission products and elevated levels of two uranium activation products 

(i.e., 3.3 times the levels used in the preceding case, or 1 atom/fission of Np-239 and 

0.5 atoms/fission of U-237) at 2 days after detonation; 

• Exposure to 27 fission products at 4 years after detonation. 

As noted previously, radionuclide-independent factors, such as resuspension factors, 

deposition rates of resuspended radionuclides on the skin, breathing rates, and duration of 

exposure, are not needed in evaluating effects of fractionation or differences in fission mode on 

doses and, thus, were omitted to simplify the calculations. Additional assumptions include the 

following: 

• All radionuclides in fallout are resuspended, and redeposited on the skin, to the same 

extent. Depending on the stress that causes resuspension of fallout deposited on the 

ground surface, this assumption may not be correct if near-field fallout enriched in 

refractory radionuclides has a significantly larger particle-size distribution than fallout 

enriched in volatile radionuclides. However, the expected effect would be to lower 

internal doses from intakes of refractories and external doses from deposition of 

refractories on the skin relative to doses from volatiles, and thus lessen the likelihood 

that dose calculations assuming no fractionation would yield underestimates of doses. 

• Differences in absorption of radionuclides from the lungs or GI tract into blood due to 

volumetric occlusion of refractory radionuclides within fallout or soil particles compared 

with absorption of volatile radionuclides that are attached to the surfaces of fallout 

particles are not considered. Again, the expected effect would likely be to lower internal 

doses from intakes of refractories relative to those from volatiles, and thus lessen the 

effects of fractionation, as above. 

As noted in Section 3.1, we placed each radionuclide into one of three categories─volatile, 

refractory, or intermediate─using the approach of Hicks (1982). Our rationale was that this 

approach would maximize the potential importance of fractionation effects and, thus, would be 

consistent with the objective of a bounding analysis. That is, if many radionuclides characterized 

as either purely volatile or purely refractory actually exhibited intermediate (both volatile and 
21

refractory) behavior, as has been suggested by others (e.g., Prokofiev and Smirnov 2000), the 

effects of fractionation would be reduced. Another justification for our approach is that current 

data on fractionation of radionuclides do not permit a firm characterization of such intermediate 

behavior. The assumed categorization of the volatile/refractory behavior of each radionuclide is 

given in Table A.1 of Appendix A. 

One difference between our approach and that of Hicks (1982) is that we apportioned the 

activity (hence resulting doses) of radionuclides in the intermediate category (identified as V-R 

in Table A.1) equally between the volatile and refractory fractions of radionuclides in fallout. 

This assumption was used because fractionation data for debris from nuclear weapons tests given 

by Crocker et al. (1965), Freiling (1961), and Freiling et al. (1965) suggest that radionuclides in 

mass chains 91, 140, and 141 exhibit fully intermediate fractionation behavior. Although Hicks 

(1982) apportioned more of the activity in mass chains 91 and 140 to the volatile category than 

the refractory category, and did the reverse for mass chain 141, his supporting data were limited 

and highly variable. Thus, we opted for a simpler approach in dealing with these mass chains. 

Our approach also increases the total activity of radionuclides in the refractory category, 

compared with the approach used by Hicks. 

Dose calculations were performed using a simple, stepwise, multiplicative-chain model 

represented by equations (1)–(4). First, for each radionuclide listed in Table 1, the fission or 

activation yield of that radionuclide and its precursor radionuclides (if any) for a given fission 

mode, the specific activity of that radionuclide and any precursors, and appropriate correction 

factors for buildup and decay were multiplied to obtain the activity initially produced by a single 

fission that was remaining at the time of interest (either 2 days or 4 years after detonation). The 

activity of each radionuclide at the time of interest was then multiplied by the appropriate dose 

coefficients for the target organs or tissues and exposure pathways of interest to obtain estimates 

of dose per fission resulting from internal exposure or dose rate per fission resulting from 

external exposure.6

 

For each combination of fission mode and exposure pathway, the next step was to calculate 

total internal doses or external dose rates per fission at 2 days and 4 years for each of the three 

fractionation categories, i.e., volatiles, refractories, and unfractionated mixtures (see Figure 1). 

 

6 We describe these quantities as a dose or dose rate per fission, even though they are only proportional to 

dose or dose rate. Factors of proportionality are unimportant in comparing doses in different cases. 
22

We apportioned 50% of the doses for each radionuclide in the intermediate (V-R) category to the 

volatile and refractory categories, as discussed above. For example, in calculations at 2 days that 

assume inhalation of fission products, but no activation products, from fission of U-235 by 

fission neutrons, doses to the lung were calculated for (1) 26 refractory radionuclides and seven 

intermediate radionuclides (with individual dose contributions halved as just described), (2) 46 

volatile radionuclides and seven intermediate radionuclides (again with halved dose 

contributions from each of the latter), and (3) all 79 fission products in the unfractionated 

mixture. The products of these three steps give total doses per fission in the refractory, volatile, 

and unfractionated categories at the post-detonation times of interest. These three steps were then 

repeated for each combination of fission mode, yield of uranium activation products, postdetonation (decay) time, target organ or tissue, and exposure pathway of interest. 

We then calculated ratios of doses per fission for each exposure and fractionation category to 

doses per fission for the corresponding exposure categories assuming a complete (i.e., 

unfractionated) set of radionuclides. We refer to these ratios unadjusted fractionation ratios. 

Using the 2-day example described above to illustrate, the ratio of the dose from refractories to 

the dose from the unfractionated mixture was calculated by dividing the dose to the lung per 

fission resulting from inhalation of 26 refractory and seven intermediate fission products by the 

dose to the lung per fission resulting from inhalation of all 79 fission products in the 

unfractionated mixture. This step was repeated by dividing the dose to the lung per fission from 

inhalation of 46 volatile and seven intermediate fission products by the dose to the lung per 

fission resulting from inhalation of all 79 fission products in the unfractionated mixture. 

These calculations are illustrated in the following equations using effective doses that were 

calculated using equations (1) and (2) as examples: 
23

FRj (r:u) = Σ Di,j (refractories)/Σ Di,j (unfractionated) (5) 

where 

FRj (r:u) = unadjusted fractionation ratio for refractory 

radionuclides for fission mode j, 

Σ Di,j (refractories) = sum of effective doses from intake via inhalation or 

ingestion of all refractory radionuclides produced in 

fission mode j (Sv/fission), 

Σ Di,j (unfractionated) = sum of effective doses from intake via inhalation or 

ingestion of all radionuclides (unfractionated mixture) 

produced in fission mode j (Sv/fission). 

FRj (v:u) = Σ Di,j (volatiles)/Σ Di,j (unfractionated) (6) 

where 

FRj (v:u) = unadjusted fractionation ratio for volatile radionuclides 

 for fission mode j, 

Σ Di,j (volatiles) = sum of effective doses from intake via inhalation or 

ingestion of all volatile radionuclides produced in 

fission mode j (Sv/fission), 

Σ Di,j (unfractionated) = sum of effective doses from intake via inhalation or 

ingestion of all radionuclides (unfractionated mixture) 

produced in fission mode j (Sv/fission). 

When uranium activation products are included, the numbers of radionuclides in the refractory 

grouping and in the unfractionated mixture were increased by two (i.e., to 28 + 7 and 81, 

respectively). 

Paired sets of unadjusted fractionation ratios (ratios of doses per fission from refractories 

only to doses per fission from unfractionated mixtures and ratios of doses per fission from 

volatiles only to doses per fission from unfractionated mixtures) were calculated for each 

combination of fission mode, yield of uranium activation products, post-detonation (decay) time, 

target organ or tissue, and exposure pathway of interest (see Figure 1). All unadjusted 

fractionation ratios so obtained are less than unity, because they incorporate an assumption that 
24

all volatiles have been removed from unfractionated fallout without changing the amounts of 

refractories that would remain, or vice versa. 

Because of the way that concentrations of radionuclides in fallout are estimated in dose 

reconstructions for atomic veterans, the unadjusted fractionation ratios calculated as described 

above only partially account for the effects of fractionation on doses from internal or external 

exposure. These ratios must be corrected for the potential effects of fractionation on the levels of 

external exposure to photons in air above the ground surface. 

The need for such a correction is illustrated by the unadjusted fractionation ratios for 

effective dose rates from external exposure to radionuclides in fallout deposited on the ground 

given in Table 2. As noted previously, those effective dose rates are a good surrogate for external 

photon exposure rates in air above the ground surface. Two days after a detonation, results in 

Table 2 indicate that refractory radionuclides contribute between 36.6 and 61.5% of the total 

effective dose rate from an unfractionated mixture, depending on the assumed fission mode and 

assumptions about yields per fission of uranium activation products. The physical basis for this 

result is that the average effective dose rate per radionuclide at 2 days is roughly the same for 

volatiles and refractories in mixtures of fission products that are present at that time but there are 

about 60% more volatile fission products than refractories. 

In dose reconstructions for atomic veterans, the concentrations of radionuclides in fallout 

deposited on the ground are estimated on the basis of measured photon exposure rates in air 

above ground at times within a few days of detonation combined with (1) calculations of the 

exposure rate in air per unit activity concentration of each radionuclide on the ground surface 

and (2) estimates of relative activities of radionuclides present in an unfractionated mixture of 

weapons debris, which are obtained as described in Section 2 (NRC 2003). Thus, if an effective 

external dose rate at 2 days were due only to refractory radionuclides, calculations based on an 

assumption of an unfractionated mixture would underestimate the concentrations of refractory 

radionuclides in deposited fallout by an amount equal to the reciprocal of the fractionation ratio 

derived from effective external dose rates from ground-surface exposure. 

We refer to the reciprocal of the fractionation ratio for external effective dose rates from 

exposure to fallout deposited on the ground as an activity-concentration adjustment factor 

(ACAF). Values of this factor also are given in Table 2. For example, relative activities of 

refractories in fallout must be increased by a factor between 1.6 and 2.7 to reproduce the same 
25

external dose rate that results from unfractionated mixtures. Thus, to properly represent the 

effects of complete fractionation in other dose or dose-rate calculations, including those 

assuming a 4-year decay period, unadjusted fractionation ratios described above must be 

increased by the appropriate activity-concentration adjustment factor that describes reductions in 

external effective dose rates when all volatiles or refractories are removed from unfractionated 

mixtures on the ground surface. We characterize the corrected sets of fractionation ratios that 

apply to internal doses or external dose rates to skin as adjusted fractionation ratios (AFRs). 

The corrections described above are illustrated for refractories in the following equation, 

which uses unadjusted fractionation ratios for effective doses per fission resulting from 

inhalation or ingestion as calculated in equation (5): 

AFRj (r:u) = FRj (r:u) × ACAFj (r:u) (7) 

where 

AFRj (r:u) = adjusted fractionation ratio for refractory radionuclides for effective 

doses resulting from inhalation or ingestion of radionuclides produced 

in fission mode j, 

FRj (r:u) = unadjusted fractionation ratio for refractory radionuclides for effective 

doses resulting from inhalation or ingestion of radionuclides produced 

in fission mode j [see equation (5)], 

ACAFj (r:u) = activity-concentration adjustment factor for refractory radionuclides 

for fission mode j – i.e., reciprocal of fractionation ratio for refractory 

radionuclides that applies to effective dose rate from external 

exposure to radionuclides deposited on ground surface (see Table 2). 

Our calculations do not include contributions to doses from unfissioned plutonium in 

weapons debris, for which all data currently are classified. Plutonium is a potentially important 

radionuclide in regard to estimating inhalation doses to atomic veterans (NRC 2003). Given that 

plutonium is one of the most refractory radionuclides in weapons debris (Crocker et al. 1965; 

Freiling 1961; Freiling et al. 1965), effects of fractionation on doses from plutonium can be 

bounded by the activity-concentration adjustment factors in Table 2, provided that levels of 

plutonium in unfractionated weapons debris, as estimated from cloud-sampling data, have been 
26

accurately characterized in carrying out dose reconstructions for atomic veterans. That is, 

increases in levels of plutonium in fractionated fallout compared with unfractionated weapons 

debris would not exceed the factor by which concentrations of refractory fission and activation 

products would need to be increased to give a measured external exposure rate in air that applies 

to an unfractionated mixture of radionuclides on the ground. 

We think that doses or dose rates corrected by activity-concentration adjustment factors 

(ACAFs), as we have defined them, provide a reasonable representation of the maximal effects 

of fractionation on doses or dose rates in dose reconstructions for atomic veterans. We reiterate 

that the fractionation effects of greatest interest to exposures of atomic veterans are those that 

involve enhancements in abundances of refractory radionuclides relative to volatiles in fallout, 

i.e., adjusted ratios of doses per fission from refractory radionuclides to doses per fission for the 

unfractionated mixtures, because participants at the NTS and the Pacific Proving Grounds 

usually were exposed at locations where fallout was dominated by larger particles that should 

have contained a higher proportion of refractory radionuclides than unfractionated fallout. An 

assumption of no fractionation in fallout should result in overestimates of the concentrations of 

volatile radionuclides deposited on the ground but underestimates of the concentrations of 

refractory radionuclides. Our calculations that assume complete separation of refractories from 

volatiles should similarly result in an overestimate of the effects of fractionation, but that was the 

purpose of our bounding analysis. 
27

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

Results of the calculations described in Section 3.5 are given in Tables 3–12. Adjusted 

fractionation ratios (AFRs) resulting from calculations of external dose rate to skin and internal 

dose per fission for the six combinations of radionuclide inventories and decay periods and four 

fission modes are given in Tables 3–8. Although AFRs for volatile radionuclides are included in 

Tables 3–8 for completeness, these ratios are not considered germane to an evaluation of effects 

of fractionation in local fallout to which atomic veterans were primarily exposed. Calculated 

external dose rates per fission, including the effective dose rate from exposure to fallout on the 

ground surface, and internal doses per fission for unfractionated mixtures of radionuclides in the 

same scenarios are given in Tables 9–12. The latter data are useful in examining potential effects 

of differences in fission mode or yield of activation products on doses to atomic veterans in the 

absence of fractionation. 

Both sets of tables are organized in the same manner. Results for external exposure are 

presented first, followed by results for effective doses from inhalation or ingestion, and finally by 

results for doses to individual target organs or tissues from inhalation or ingestion. 

4.1 Adjusted Fractionation Ratios for Refractory Radionuclides 

AFRs obtained by assuming that only refractory radionuclides are present in fallout 

[AFR (r:u)] in Tables 3–8 are all less than 2. These results thus suggest that even under extreme 

assumptions about the extent of fractionation, dose estimates that are obtained by assuming an 

unfractionated mixture of radionuclides would underestimate the dose to any target organ or 

tissue from external or internal exposure by less than a factor of two, regardless of fission mode 

or abundance of activation products, for the two post-detonation decay times we assumed. The 

average photon energy does not change much from one fission mode to another, and the largest 

differences in the number of photons per fission among the different fission modes considered 

occur at ~4–5 days and at 3–5 years (Björnerstedt 1959). The beta/photon intensity ratio peaks at 

the later times for thermal fission of U-235. If this is also the case for the other fission modes, the 

range of potential fractionation ratios for fission products at other times may be well 

characterized by the values at 2 days and 4 years presented in Tables 3–8. 
28

The largest AFR (r:u) of 1.9 was obtained in calculations of dose to the lung at 4 years from 

inhalation of fission products produced by fission of U-235 by fission neutrons, but with no 

uranium activation products present (Table 6). That AFR (r:u) is significantly higher than the 

corresponding values for the other three fission modes because the fission yields for two key 

longer-lived volatile radionuclides (Ru-106, Sb-125) are significantly lower in the U-235 fission 

mode, thus reducing the relative contribution to dose from the volatile components of an 

unfractionated mixture. For all four fission modes, slightly lower AFRs (r:u) of about 1.4–1.7 

were obtained in calculations of doses to the lung from inhalation and doses to the colon from 

ingestion at 2 days, with or without uranium activation products (Table 6). All AFRs (r:u) for 

doses to the skin at 2 days, with or without uranium activation products, were somewhat lower 

(1.1–1.7) (Table 3). In all cases, the influence of fission mode on the AFRs (r:u) at 2 days was 

reduced when uranium activation products were included, because the presence of refractory 

activation products reduces differences among the doses and dose rates for fractionated and 

unfractionated materials upon which the AFRs (r:u) are based. 

It is also noteworthy that when levels of uranium activation products are increased from the 

nominal values to 3.3 times those values, the difference between an AFR (r:u) for internal doses 

and external dose rates to skin and the value 1 typically is reduced. This is as expected because 

with a sufficiently high content of refractory activation products, the fractional contribution of 

refractories to the total external dose rate from exposure to photons emitted by unfractionated 

fallout on the ground surface at 2 days is increased, up to a maximum value of 1. As a result, for 

external exposure to fallout on the ground, both the activity-concentration adjustment factor 

(ACAF) defined in Section 3.5 (see also Table 2) and AFR (r:u) approach a value of 1 in the 

limit, albeit at different rates.7

 

Although the higher level of uranium activation products we assumed in our analysis is 

strictly applicable only to fallout from detonations of thermonuclear weapons tested in the 

Pacific, we think it also serves to bound the potential effects that would be obtained by including 

 

7 This intuitive result appears to be contradicted by results for committed effective doses from inhalation 

at 2 days for all fission modes given in Table 4 and committed doses to red marrow from ingestion at 

2 days for fission of U-235 by a spectrum of fission neutrons or 14-MeV neutrons given in Table 7, which 

show increasing departures of AFR (r:u) from the value 1 as assumed amounts of uranium activation 

products are increased from the nominal levels to 3.3 times those levels. In all such cases, however, 

AFR (r:u) approaches the value 1, as expected, as assumed amounts of uranium activation products are 

increased still further.
29

a full suite of short-lived neutron activation products that would occur in weapons debris from 

detonations at the NTS. Data given by Hicks (1981; 1982) indicate that there are potentially 

more than twice as many refractory activation products as there are volatile activation products 

produced by nuclear detonations at the NTS, and that activities of most shorter-lived activation 

products we did not consider are expected to be lower, typically by several orders of magnitude, 

than activities of Np-239 and most fission products at 2 days after detonation. Thus, we do not 

expect that including additional activation products would have a significant effect on our 

fractionation calculations. 

As an additional test of the potential importance of including additional activation products 

in our calculations, we added what should be conservatively large amounts of soil activation 

products Co-60 and Eu isotopes with decay-corrected activities relative to the activity of Cs-137 

of 15 for Eu-155, 9 for Co-60, 3 for Eu-154, and 3 for Eu-152, as derived from soil survey data 

at the NTS (McArthur and Mead 1987), to the refractory radionuclides in a mixture of fission 

products at 4 years. In this extremely unlikely case, all values of AFR (r:u) were <1 and all 

values that were <1 without soil activation products increased when soil activation products were 

included. Although these calculations could be revisited with more realistic relative activities of 

fission and activation products, these results, along with those for cases where uranium 

activation products were included in calculations at 2 days, appear to reinforce the idea that the 

potential effects of activation scenarios on fractionation at times >2 days probably have been 

bounded by our calculations. 

In many calculations of internal doses from ingestion or inhalation at 4 years after 

detonation, the results indicate that doses to some organs and tissues that would be obtained by 

assuming an unfractionated mixture of radionuclides could overestimate actual doses by more 

than two orders of magnitude if significant fractionation (i.e., enhancement of refractories) 

occurred. For example, values of AFR (r:u) for red marrow and pancreas at 4 years in Tables 7 

and 8 are about 0.1 or less. In these cases, the principal contributors to internal dose from 

exposure to unfractionated fallout are the volatile radionuclides Sr-90, Ru-106, and Cs-137. It 

also is important to bear in mind, however, that internal doses from exposure to fission products 

at 4 years usually should be low and often would be insignificant compared with internal doses 

from exposure to plutonium (NRC 2003). 
30

4.2 Doses from Unfractionated Mixtures of Fission and Uranium Activation Products 

In this section, we examine the potential effects of differences in fission mode or yield of 

activation products on doses to atomic veterans in the absence of fractionation. Comparisons of 

doses per fission for unfractionated mixtures given in Tables 9-12 indicate that the largest 

differences produced by variations in radionuclide content among the four fission modes are of 

the same order of magnitude as the differences in the adjusted fractionation ratios [AFRs (r:u)] in 

Tables 3-8 for a given decay time (i.e., about a factor of 2). However, in most cases, the effects 

of differences in fission mode on doses per fission typically are much less than the effects on 

AFRs (r:u) (i.e., <20%). The largest effects of differences in fission mode on doses are seen at 

4 years (Tables 9-12). The effective dose from inhalation of fission products produced by fission 

of Pu-239 is 1.5 times that for U-235 fission at 4 years, while nearly the reverse is true for 

ingestion, where the effective dose from U-235 fission products is 1.2 times that from Pu-239 

fission (Table 10). These comparisons hold regardless of whether calculations are based on dose 

coefficients for the public or workers, and the relatively small differences observed between the 

two sets of calculations indicate that distinctions between workers and members of the public are 

not needed. Dose coefficients for workers probably are more appropriate for exposures at the 

NTS, but this may not be the case in the Pacific, where many participants were exposed during 

off-duty activities. 

A larger difference (1.8 times) is observed when comparing the effective dose from external 

exposure at 4 years from U-238 fission by high-energy neutrons with that from U-235 fission by 

fission neutrons (Table 9). The former is expected to be the dominant fission mode in 

thermonuclear weapons tested in the Pacific (Freiling et al. 1965), whereas fission of U-235 (and 

Pu-239) by fission neutrons should be the dominant contributors to yields of nuclear weapons 

tested at the NTS. Fission of U-238 by high-energy neutrons should not have occurred in 

weapons tested at the NTS, although a small contribution from fission of U-238 by fission 

neutrons would be expected. Thus, the observed difference of a factor of 1.8 noted above may 

not be particularly meaningful because contributions from those two fission modes should 

dominate spectra of fission products produced in weapons tests under radically different 

conditions. That is, uncertainties in doses resulting from uncertainties in activities contributed by 

one fission mode should not contribute to uncertainties in doses produced by tests in which the 
31

other mode was dominant. This is unlike the situation with some tests of fission weapons at the 

NTS, in which contributions to activities of fission products from several fission modes (such as 

U-235 and Pu-239 fission—and potentially U-238 fission—by fission neutrons) was possible. 

More meaningful differences in doses per fission due to differences in activities of fission 

products generated in different fission modes are found in calculated doses to individual organs 

or tissues from inhalation or ingestion of fission products alone at 4 years after detonation. As 

indicated in Table 11, for example, the dose to the lung from inhalation of unfractionated fission 

products produced by fission of Pu-239 is 1.9 times that for U-235 fission, while the dose to the 

colon from ingestion of Pu-239 fission products is 1.3 times that from U-235 fission. This pattern 

is somewhat different from what was seen in the comparisons of effective doses from inhalation 

or ingestion of fission products produced by these two fission modes, where the effective dose to 

the lung from Pu-239 fission was 1.5 times that for U-235 fission and the dose to the colon from 

U-235 fission was 1.2 times larger than that from Pu-239 fission. The higher dose contributions 

to lung and colon from inhaled or ingested Pu-239 fission products are linked to the higher 

fission yield of Ru-106 in this mode. The yield of Ru-106 in Pu-239 fission is more than eight 

times the yield in U-235 fission by fission neutrons, and Ru-106 contributes about 70% of the 

total dose to the lung from inhalation and about 50% of the total dose to the colon from ingestion 

of unfractionated mixtures of Pu-239 fission products in our scenarios. 

In another case for which doses per fission are given in Table 12, doses to red marrow at 

4 years from inhalation or ingestion of radionuclides in unfractionated mixtures of fission 

products produced by fission of U-235 by fission neutrons are 2.3–2.4 times greater than those 

produced by fission of Pu-239. This difference is due primarily to the higher yield of Sr-90 in 

U-235 fission (2.7 times greater than the yield in Pu-239 fission). Although yields of Cs-137, 

Ce-144, and Pm-147 also are higher in U-235 fission, these increases serve primarily to offset 

the contributions to dose from Ru-106, Sb-125, and Eu-155, which have higher yields in Pu-239 

fission. 
32

5. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 

Our bounding analysis of potential effects of fractionation of radionuclides in fallout on 

reconstructed doses to atomic veterans indicates that, if unfissioned plutonium is excluded, 

neglect of fractionation could result in underestimates of dose, but that the extent of 

underestimation probably is less than a factor of two even under the most extreme (and highly 

unlikely) assumption that fallout contains only refractory fission and activation products. In 

many cases, however, the current approach of neglecting fractionation in dose reconstructions for 

atomic veterans probably results in overestimates of doses from exposure to fission and 

activation products if significant fractionation (i.e., enhancement of refractory radionuclides 

relative to volatiles) occurred. 

The conclusions summarized above do not take into account potential effects of 

contributions from unfissioned plutonium in weapons debris, for which all data are classified 

and, thus, have not been included in our calculations. However, the effects of fractionation on 

doses from plutonium should be bounded by the activity-concentration adjustment factors 

derived from an analysis of effects of fractionation on effective dose rates from exposure to 

radionuclides on the ground given in Table 2, provided that levels of plutonium in unfractionated 

weapons debris have been accurately characterized on the basis of cloud-sampling data in 

carrying out dose reconstructions for atomic veterans. Under that condition, doses from 

plutonium would be underestimated by less than a factor of three in calculations that assume no 

fractionation even if fallout contained refractory radionuclides only. 

There are at least two reasons why our bounding analysis has likely captured the potential 

effects of fractionation on doses to atomic veterans from exposure to fission and activation 

products. An obvious reason is that complete separation of refractories from volatiles in fallout 

has never been reported. The other is that many radionuclides, including Sr-90 and Np-239, that 

figure prominently in the results described in the preceding section do not exhibit the “black or 

white” volatility behavior that we and Hicks (1982) have attributed to them (e.g., see Crocker et 

al. 1965; Freiling et al. 1965; Prokofiev and Smirnov 2000). Rather, these radionuclides, along 

with others that we have classified as either volatile (e.g., Ru-103) or refractory (e.g., Te-132), 

have been shown to exhibit intermediate fractionation behavior. Factoring in such behavior 
33

would effectively blur the distinctions between the volatile and refractory categories and reduce 

differences in doses between them. 

We were only able to find published data on fractionation behavior for less than 20% of the 

79 radionuclides we included in our calculations. Thus, more exact quantitative comparisons of 

doses from exposures to fractionated and unfractionated fallout probably are impractical and 

bounding calculations or related mathematical exercises akin to those we performed are the most 

reasonable approach. Although modeling of fractionation behavior in mass chains produced in 

nuclear detonations and neutron activation of weapons and soil components based on first 

principles could be attempted, i.e., by using available information on decay modes, neutron 

fluxes and capture cross sections of precursors of activation products, volatilities of precursor 

nuclides, thermal-temporal characteristics of fireballs, and the nature of environmental or other 

materials incorporated into the fireballs or exposed to neutron fluxes, it seems doubtful that such 

an approach would be useful, given the large number of variables in such calculations, the 

limited shot-specific data from nuclear weapons testing available to assess the accuracy of model 

predictions, and indications from these limited data that there is a large, sometimes 

unpredictable, test-to-test variability in fallout characteristics. Results from our analysis, which 

indicate that doses to atomic veterans could be underestimated by less than a factor of two in the 

worst cases, also argue against the usefulness of a more rigorous analysis of effects of 

fractionation. 

Our analysis clearly indicates that the potential degree of underestimation of external and 

internal doses to atomic veterans that results from neglect of fractionation in all dose 

reconstructions is not large – i.e., less than a factor of two for external and internal exposure to 

fission and activation products and less than a factor of three for internal exposure to plutonium. 

Therefore, given the conservative assumptions that often are incorporated in dose reconstructions 

(NRC, 2003), potential underestimations of dose probably are less than values of simple 

adjustment factors specified in the 2003 Interim Guidance (Benavides 2003) that are applied to 

estimates of dose from specific pathways to obtain upper bounds (i.e., at least upper 95% 

credibility limits). That is, it is unlikely that additional adjustments to account for effects of 

fractionation would be needed to obtain credible upper bounds of dose to atomic veterans. 
34

Fission Yields and Decay Schemes of Radionuclides

for Weapon Fission Modes:

U-235 nf U-238 nf

Pu-239 nf U-238 n14

Radionuclide Inventory 

for Each Fission Mode 

and Set of Activation 

Products

2-d or 4-y 

Buildup-Decay 

Factor for Each 

Radionuclide

Activity of Each 

Radionuclide at 2 d or 

4 y Post-Detonation 

for Each Fission Mode

Dose/Dose Rate from 

Each Radionuclide for 

Each Fission Mode 

and Decay Time

Internal Dose Coefficients

• Inhalation 

• Ingestion

External Dose Coefficients

• Skin: Body Surface (e–)

• Skin: Ground Surface (e–, γ)

• Effective: Ground Surface (γ)

Σ Dose or Σ Dose Rate for Each 

Case for Three Groupings: 

Volatiles, Refractories, and 

Unfractionated Mixtures

Ratios of Σ Doses or Σ Dose Rates for 

Volatiles:Unfractionated Mixtures for 

Each Case, Corrected for Initial 

Fractionation by Dividing by the Ratio 

of the Σ Effective Dose Rates at 2 days 

from Radionuclides on the Ground for 

Volatiles:Unfractionated Mixtures

Ratios of Σ Doses or Σ Dose Rates for 

Refractories:Unfractionated Mixtures for 

Each Case, Corrected for Initial 

Fractionation by Dividing by the Ratio 

of the Σ Effective Dose Rates at 2 days 

from Radionuclides on the Ground for 

Refractories:Unfractionated Mixtures 

Yields of U 

Activation 

Products

Figure 1. Summary of Approach to Bounding Analysis of Effects of Radionuclide 

Fractionation on Estimates of Dose from Different Exposure Pathways
35

Table 1. Fission and activation product radionuclides included in analysisa

Fission products 

Ge-77 Zr-97 Ag-111 Sb-127 I-135 Pm-147 

As-77 Nb-97m Pd-112 Te-127m Cs-136 Pm-149 

Sr-89 Nb-97 Ag-112 Te-127 Cs-137 Pm-151 

Sr-90 Mo-99 Ag-113 Sb-128 Ba-137m Sm-153 

Y-90 Tc-99m Cd-113m Sb-129 Ba-140 Eu-155 

Sr-91 Ru-103 Cd-115m Te-129m La-140 Sm-156 

Y-91m Rh-103m Cd-115 Te-129 La-141 Eu-156 

Y-91 Ru-105 In-115m I-130 Ce-141 Eu-157 

Sr-92 Rh-105m Sn-121 Te-131m Ce-143 Gd-159 

Y-92 Rh-105 Sn-123 Te-131 Pr-143 

Y-93 Ru-106 Sn-125 I-131 Ce-144 

Zr-95 Rh-106 Sb-125 Te-132 Pr-144 

Nb-95m Pd-109 Te-125m I-132 Pr-145 

Nb-95 Ag-109m Sb-126 I-133 Nd-147 

Activation products 

 U-237 Np-239 

a

All radionuclides were included in dose calculations at 2 days after detonation; 

radionuclides highlighted in bold were included in calculations at 4 years. 
DRAFT – March 2007 

Table 2. Fractionation ratios for external effective dose rates from exposure to radionuclide

surface for four fission modes and two activation scenarios at 2 days after det

Fractionation ratio for volatilesb Fractionation ratio for refractorie

Radionuclides U-235 nf Pu-239 nf U-238 nf U-238 n14 U-235 nf Pu-239 nf UFission products only 0.57 0.63 0.60 0.62 0.43 0.37 Fission products + uranium  activation products 0.50 0.56 0.53 0.54 0.50 0.45 Fission products + uranium  activation products increased  by a factor of 3.3 0.39 0.43 0.41 0.42 0.62 0.57 

Reciprocals of the fractionation ratios (activity-concentration adjustm

Fission products only 1.8 1.6 1.7 1.6 2.3 2.7 Fission products + uranium  activation products 2.0 1.8 1.9 1.9 2.0 2.2 Fission products + uranium  activation products increased  by a factor of 3.3 2.6 2.4 2.5 2.4 1.6 1.7 aFractionation ratios are calculated by assuming complete separation of volatile and refractory components. bRatio of dose rate from volatile radionuclides only to dose rate from unfractionated mixture. cRatio of dose rate from refractory radionuclides only to dose rate from unfractionated mixture. 
37

Table 3. Adjusted fractionation ratios for external dose rates to skin from exposure to radionuclides prod

modes as a function of decay time, exposure pathway, and assumed yields of activation pro

Volatiles:Unfractionated (v:u) Refractories:Unfractionated 

Radionuclides  (decay time) 

Exposure pathway U-235 nf Pu-239 nf U-238 nf U-238 n14 U-235 nf Pu-239 nf U

Fission products  (2 d) 

Deposition on skin 0.72 0.80 0.75 0.83 1.4 1.4 1

Fission products  + U (2 d) 

Deposition on skin 0.51 0.57 0.53 0.60 1.5 1.5 1

Fission products  + 3.3 × U (2 d) 

Deposition on skin 0.35 0.39 0.37 0.42 1.4 1.5 1

Fission products  (4 y) 

Deposition on skin 1.0 1.1 0.99 1.1 0.98 0.87 1

Fission products  + U (4 y) 

Deposition on skin 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.3 0.84 0.72 0

Fission products  + 3.3 × U (4 y) 

Deposition on skin 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.6 0.69 0.56 0

Fission products  (2 d) 

Deposition on ground 0.58 0.62 0.59 0.67 1.6 1.7 1

Fission products  + U (2 d) 

Deposition on ground 0.64 0.68 0.65 0.75 1.4 1.4 1

Fission products  + 3.3 × U (2 d) 

Deposition on ground 0.78 0.82 0.79 0.91 1.1 1.1 1

Fission products  (4 y) 

Deposition on ground 0.91 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 0.69 0

Fission products  + U (4 y) 

Deposition on ground 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.3 0.95 0.57 0

Fission products  + 3.3 × U (4 y) 

Deposition on ground 1.4 1.7 1.6 1.7 0.78 0.45 0
38

Table 4. Adjusted fractionation ratios for 50-y committed effective doses from inhalation of radionuclid

fission modes as a function of decay time, dose-coefficient selection, and assumed yields of activati

Volatiles:Unfractionated (v:u) Refractories:Unfractionated 

Radionuclides Decay time U-235 nf Pu-239 nf U-238 nf U-238 n14 U-235 nf Pu-239 nf U Values based on dose coefficients for the publicFission products 2 d 0.93 0.99 0.96 1.0 1.1 1.0 Fission products  + U 2 d 0.71 0.76 0.72 0.78 1.3 1.3 Fission products  + 3.3 × U 2 d 0.51 0.56 0.52 0.57 1.3 1.3 Fission products 4 y 0.69 1.1 0.94 1.0 1.4 0.79 1Fission products  + U 4 y 0.79 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.2 0.65 0Fission products  + 3.3 × U 4 y 1.0 1.7 1.4 1.5 0.99 0.51 0 Values based on dose coefficients for workers Fission products 2 d 0.95 1.0 0.97 1.0 1.1 1.0 Fission products  + U 2 d 0.73 0.78 0.75 0.80 1.3 1.3 Fission products  + 3.3 × U 2 d 0.54 0.58 0.55 0.60 1.3 1.3 Fission products 4 y 0.72 1.1 0.96 1.0 1.4 0.78 Fission products  + U 4 y 0.82 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.2 0.64 Fission products  + 3.3 × U 4 y 1.1 1.7 1.4 1.5 0.96 0.50 
39

Table 5. Adjusted fractionation ratios for 50-y committed effective doses from ingestion of radionuclides p

fission modes as a function of decay time, dose-coefficient selection, and assumed yields of activati

Volatiles:Unfractionated (v:u) Refractories:Unfractionated 

Radionuclides Decay time U-235 nf Pu-239 nf U-238 nf U-238 n14 U-235 nf Pu-239 nf U Values based on dose coefficients for the public Fission products 2 d 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.2 0.66 0.63 Fission products  + U 2 d 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 0.80 0.80 Fission products  + 3.3 × U 2 d 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 0.93 0.93 Fission products 4 y 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.4 0.28 0.29 Fission products  + U 4 y 1.8 1.6 1.7 1.6 0.24 0.24 Fission products  + 3.3 × U 4 y 2.3 2.1 2.2 2.1 0.19 0.19  Values based on dose coefficients for workers Fission products 2 d 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.2 0.67 0.64 Fission products  + U 2 d 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.2 0.73 0.75 Fission products  + 3.3 × U 2 d 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 0.94 0.94 Fission products 4 y 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.4 0.28 0.29 Fission products  + U 4 y 1.8 1.6 1.7 1.6 0.24 0.24 Fission products  + 3.3 × U 4 y 2.3 2.1 2.2 2.1 0.19 0.19 
40

Table 6. Adjusted fractionation ratios for 50-y committed doses to lung from inhalation and colon from i

of radionuclides produced in four fission modes as a function of decay time and assumed yields of act

Volatiles:Unfractionated (v:u) Refractories:Unfractionated 

Radionuclides  (decay time) Target organ U-235 nf Pu-239 nf U-238 nf U-238 n14 U-235 nf Pu-239 nf U

Exposure via inhalation

Fission products  (2 d) Lung 0.53 0.72 0.62 0.73 1.6 1.5 Fission products  + U (2 d) Lung 0.32 0.45 0.37 0.46 1.7 1.7 Fission products  + 3.3 × U (2 d) Lung 0.20 0.28 0.23 0.29 1.5 1.5 Fission products  (4 y) Lung 0.33 1.1 0.85 0.93 1.9 0.84 Fission products  + U (4 y) Lung 0.38 1.3 0.97 1.1 1.6 0.69 Fission products  + 3.3 × U (4 y) Lung 0.49 1.6 1.3 1.4 1.3 0.54 

Exposure via ingestion

Fission products  (2 d) Colon 0.54 0.63 0.57 0.69 1.6 1.7 Fission products  + U (2 d) Colon 0.40 0.46 0.42 0.51 1.6 1.7 Fission products  + 3.3 × U (2 d) Colon 0.29 0.32 0.30 0.37 1.5 1.5 Fission products  (4 y) Colon 0.95 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 0.71 Fission products  + U (4 y) Colon 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.3 0.91 0.58 Fission products  + 3.3 × U (4 y) Colon 1.4 1.7 1.6 1.7 0.75 0.45 
41

Table 7. Adjusted fractionation ratios for 50-y committed doses to red marrow from inhalation or inge

of radionuclides produced in four fission modes as a function of decay time and assumed yields of act

Volatiles:Unfractionated (v:u) Refractories:Unfractionated 

Radionuclides Decay time U-235 nf Pu-239 nf U-238 nf U-238 n14 U-235 nf Pu-239 nf U Exposure via inhalation Fission products 2 d 1.0 0.92 0.98 0.99 0.96 1.1 Fission products  + U 2 d 1.0 0.90 0.96 0.98 0.96 1.1 Fission products  + 3.3 × U 2 d 1.1 0.88 0.94 0.98 0.96 1.1 Fission products 4 y 1.7 1.5 1.6 1.6 0.029 0.11 Fission products  + U 4 y 2.0 1.7 1.9 1.8 0.025 0.090 Fission products  + 3.3 × U 4 y 2.6 2.2 2.4 2.3 0.020 0.070  Exposure via ingestionFission products 2 d 0.99 0.88 0.90 0.95 1.0 1.2 Fission products  + U 2 d 1.1 0.92 0.95 1.0 0.95 1.1 1Fission products  + 3.3 × U 2 d 1.2 1.0 1.0 1.1 0.91 1.0 0Fission products 4 y 1.8 1.6 1.7 1.6 0.0032 0.0067 0Fission products  + U 4 y 2.0 1.8 1.9 1.8 0.0028 0.0055 0Fission products  + 3.3 × U 4 y 2.6 2.3 2.5 2.4 0.0023 0.0043 0
42

Table 8. Adjusted fractionation ratios for 50-y committed doses to pancreas from inhalation or inges

of radionuclides produced in four fission modes as a function of decay time and assumed yields of act

Volatiles:Unfractionated (v:u) Refractories:Unfractionated 

Radionuclides Decay time U-235 nf Pu-239 nf U-238 nf U-238 n14 U-235 nf Pu-239 nf U Exposure via inhalation Fission products 2 d 0.78 0.79 0.72 0.77 1.3 1.4 Fission products  + U 2 d 0.79 0.80 0.73 0.79 1.2 1.3 Fission products  + 3.3 × U 2 d 0.80 0.82 0.76 0.82 1.1 1.1 Fission products 4 y 1.7 1.5 1.6 1.5 0.092 0.12 Fission products  + U 4 y 1.9 1.7 1.8 1.8 0.079 0.095 Fission products  + 3.3 × U 4 y 2.5 2.2 2.4 2.3 0.064 0.074  Exposure via ingestionFission products 2 d 0.91 0.91 0.89 0.91 1.1 1.2 Fission products  + U 2 d 0.94 0.94 0.92 0.94 1.1 1.1 Fission products  + 3.3 × U 2 d 0.99 1.0 0.98 1.0 1.0 1.0 Fission products 4 y 1.8 1.6 1.7 1.6 0.0031 0.0025 Fission products  + U 4 y 2.0 1.8 1.9 1.8 0.0027 0.0021 Fission products  + 3.3 × U 4 y 2.6 2.3 2.5 2.4 0.0022 0.0016 
43

Table 9. External dose rates (Sv/h) per fission from unfractionated mixtures of radionuclides produce

modes as a function of decay time, target organ, exposure pathway, and assumed yields of activat

Fission mode 

Radionuclides  (decay time) Target organ U-235 nf Pu-239 nf U-238 nf 

Exposure to radionuclides deposited on skin

Fission products  (2 d) Skin 2.0E-12 2.1E-12 2.0E-12 Fission products  + U (2 d) Skin 3.2E-12 3.3E-12 3.2E-12 Fission products  + 3.3 × U (2 d) Skin 6.1E-12 6.1E-12 6.1E-12 Fission products  (4 y) Skin 4.5E-16 4.5E-16 4.4E-16 

 Exposure to radionuclides deposited on ground surface 

Fission products  (2 d) Skin 1.8E-13 1.7E-13 1.7E-13 Fission products  + U (2 d) Skin 1.9E-13 1.7E-13 1.8E-13 Fission products  + 3.3 × U (2 d) Skin 2.0E-13 1.8E-13 1.9E-13 Fission products  (4 y) Skin 4.1E-17 5.3E-17 4.6E-17 

Exposure to radionuclides deposited on ground surface

Fission products  (2 d) Effective dose 2.2E-14 2.3E-14 2.2E-14 Fission products  + U (2 d) Effective dose 2.6E-14 2.6E-14 2.6E-14 Fission products  + 3.3 × U (2 d) Effective dose 3.3E-14 3.3E-14 3.3E-14 Fission products  (4 y) Effective dose 1.0E-18 1.6E-18 1.2E-18 
44

Table 10. 50-year committed effective doses (Sv) per fission from internal exposure to unfractionat

radionuclides produced in four fission modes as a function of decay time, exposure pathw

dose-coefficient selection, and assumed yields of activation products 

Inhalation Ingestion 

Radionuclides Decay time U-235 nf Pu-239 nf U-238 nf U-238 n14 U-235 nf Pu-239 nf U Values based on dose coefficients for the publicFission products 2 d 1.3E-15 1.4E-15 1.3E-15 1.4E-15 2.3E-15 2.4E-15 Fission products  + U 2 d 2.0E-15 2.1E-15 2.0E-15 2.1E-15 2.7E-15 2.8E-15 2Fission products  + 3.3 × U 2 d 3.6E-15 3.7E-15 3.6E-15 3.7E-15 3.8E-15 3.9E-15 3Fission products 4 y 4.2E-18 6.5E-18 5.4E-18 5.2E-18 2.0E-18 1.6E-18 1

 Values based on dose coefficients for workers 

Fission products 2 d 1.3E-15 1.4E-15 1.3E-15 1.4E-15 2.3E-15 2.4E-15 Fission products  + U 2 d 2.0E-15 2.0E-15 2.0E-15 2.0E-15 2.7E-15 2.8E-15 2Fission products  + 3.3 × U 2 d 3.5E-15 3.6E-15 3.5E-15 3.5E-15 3.8E-15 3.9E-15 3Fission products 4 y 4.0E-18 6.1E-18 5.1E-18 4.9E-18 2.0E-18 1.6E-18 1
45

Table 11. 50-year committed doses (Sv) per fission to lung from inhalation and colon from ingestion 

unfractionated mixtures of radionuclides produced in four fission modes as a function of dec

target organ, and assumed yields of activation products 

Fission mode 

Radionuclides  (decay time) Target organ U-235 nf Pu-239 nf U-238 nf 

Exposure via inhalation

Fission products  (2 d) Lung 5.0E-15 5.3E-15 5.0E-15 Fission products  + U (2 d) Lung 9.4E-15 9.7E-15 9.4E-15 Fission products  + 3.3 × U (2 d) Lung 2.0E-14 2.0E-14 2.0E-14 Fission products  (4 y) Lung 2.3E-17 4.5E-17 3.5E-17 

 Exposure via ingestion 

Fission products  (2 d) Colon 6.3E-15 6.1E-15 6.1E-15 Fission products  + U (2 d) Colon 9.7E-15 9.5E-15 9.5E-15 Fission products  + 3.3 × U (2 d) Colon 1.8E-14 1.8E-14 1.7E-14 Fission products  (4 y) Colon 4.2E-18 5.3E-18 4.6E-18 
46

Table 12. 50-year committed doses (Sv/fission) to red marrow and pancreas from inhalation or inges

of unfractionated mixtures of radionuclides produced in four fission modes as a function of de

and assumed yields of activation products 

Red marrow Pancreas 

Radionuclides Decay time U-235 nf Pu-239 nf U-238 nf U-238 n14 U-235 nf Pu-239 nf  Exposure via inhalationFission products 2 d 1.7E-16 1.3E-16 1.4E-16 1.5E-16 6.8E-17 7.4E-17 Fission products  + U 2 d 2.0E-16 1.6E-16 1.6E-16 1.7E-16 7.7E-17 8.3E-17 8Fission products  + 3.3 × U 2 d 2.5E-16 2.1E-16 2.1E-16 2.2E-16 9.9E-17 1.0E-16 1Fission products 4 y 6.4E-18 2.7E-18 4.0E-18 3.9E-18 2.5E-19 3.2E-19 2

 Exposure via ingestion

Fission products 2 d 2.1E-16 1.9E-16 1.9E-16 2.0E-16 1.1E-16 1.1E-16 Fission products  + U 2 d 2.2E-16 2.1E-16 2.1E-16 2.1E-16 1.2E-16 1.3E-16 1Fission products  + 3.3 × U 2 d 2.6E-16 2.5E-16 2.5E-16 2.5E-16 1.4E-16 1.5E-16 1Fission products 4 y 7.4E-18 3.3E-18 4.7E-18 4.6E-18 6.2E-19 7.2E-19 6
47

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Sweden). 
A-1

APPENDIX A . PARAMETERS AND DOSE COEFFICIENTS FOR RADIONUCLIDES 

USED IN CALCULATIONS 
A-2

Table A.1. Half-lives, chemical characteristics, and decay relationships for 

radionuclides used in calculating activity at different times after detonation 

Nuclide Half-life 

Volatile (V) or 

Refractory (R)a Specific activity 

(Bq/atom) 

2-day buildupdecay factor 

(branching ratio) 

4-year buildupdecay factor 

Ge-77 11.3 h V 1.70E-05 5.27E-02 

As-77 38.8 h V 4.96E-06 4.24E-01n,o

Sr-89 50.55 d V 1.59E-07b

 2.06E-04n 1.99E-09 

Sr-90 28.6 y V 7.68E-10 1.00E+00 9.08E-01 

Y-90 64.1h V 4.05E-01n

 1.00E+00n

Sr-91 9.5 h V-R 2.03E-05 3.02E-02 0.00E+00 

Y-91m 49.71 m V-R 

1.10E+00n 

(0.574) 

Y-91 58.51 d V-R 2.14E-01n

 3.09E-08x

Sr-92 2.71 h R 7.10E-05 4.67E-06 

Y-92 3.54 h R 5.48E+01n

Y-93 10.1 h R 1.91E-05 3.71E-02 

Zr-95 64.02 d R 1.25E-07 9.80E-01 1.37E-07 

Nb-95m 86.6 h R 

3.10E-01n 

(0.0078) 

1.06E+00n

Nb-95 35.06 d R 

3.74E-02n,p 

(0.9922) 

2.21E+00n,y

Zr-97 16.9 h R 1.14E-05 1.40E-01 

Nb-97m 60 s R 

1.00E+00n 

(0.947) 

Nb-97 1.20 h R 

1.08E+00n 

(0.0053) 

Mo-99 66.02 h R 2.92E-06 6.04E-01 

Tc-99m 6.02 h R 

1.09E+00n 

(0.886) 

Ru-103 39.35 d V 2.04E-07 9.65E-01 6.81E-12 

Rh-103m 56.119 m V 

1.00E+00n 

(0.997) 

1.00E+00 

Ru-105 4.44 h V 4.34E-05 5.58E-04 

Rh-105m 45 s V 

1.00E+00n 

(0.245) 

Rh-105 35.36 h V 1.00E+02n

Ru-106 368.2 d V 2.18E-08 9.96E-01 6.41E-02 

Rh-106 29.92 s V 1.00E+00n 1.00E+00 

Pd-109 13.53 h V 1.42E-05 8.56E-02 

Ag-109m 39.6 s V 

1.00E+00n 

(0.99949) 

Ag-111 7.46 d V 5.02E-04c

 1.78E-03n

Pd-112 20.04 h V 9.61E-06 1.90E-01 

Ag-112 3.13 h V 1.18E+00n

Ag-113 5.3h V 3.63E-05 1.88E-03 

Cd-113m 13.7 y V 1.60E-09 1.00E+00 8.17E-01 

Cd-115m 44.6 d V 1.80E-07d

 3.17E-04n 1.41E-10 
A-3

Table A.1 (continued) 

Nuclide Half-life 

Volatile (V) or 

Refractory (R)a Specific activity 

(Bq/atom) 

2-day buildupdecay factor 

(branching ratio) 

4-year buildupdecay factor 

Cd-115 53.46 h V 3.54E-03n

In-115m 4.36 h V 3.85E-03n

Sn-121 1.128 d V 7.11E-06 2.93E-01 

Sn-123 129.2 d V 6.21E-08 9.89E-01 3.97E-04 

Sn-125 9.64 d V 8.32E-07 8.66E-01 2.62E-46 

Sb-125 2.77 y V 7.93E-09 9.99E-01n,q 3.68E-01 

Te-125m 58 d V 

2.36E-02n,q 

(0.231) 

1.06E+00n

Sb-126 12.4 d V 6.08E-04e

 9.52E-04n

Sb-127 3.85 d V 2.08E-06f

 1.23E-05n 7.37E-115 

Te-127 9.35 h V 

1.71E-02n,s 

(0.831) 

1.11E+00n,s

Te-127m 109 d V 

2.28E-04n 

(0.169) 

4.62E+108n

Sb-128 9.1 h V 2.12E-05 2.59E-02 

Sb-129 4.40 h V 4.38E-05 5.21E-04 0.00E+00 

Te-129 69.6 m V 

1.36E+00n,t 

(0.834) 

1.36E+00n,t

Te-129m 33.6 d V 2.39E-07 

1.01E+01n 

(0.166) 

8.36E-14z

I-130 12.36 h V 1.56E-05 6.78E-02 

Sb-131 23 m V 5.02E-04 

Te-131m 30 h V 6.42E-06 3.30E-01n,u

Te-131 25.0 m V 4.62E-04 2.15E-35n,v

I-131 8.04 d V 9.98E-07 w 

Te-132 78.2 h V 2.46E-06 6.54E-01 

I-132 2.30 h V 1.00E+00n

I-133 20.8 h V 2.08E-04g 9.39E-03 

I-135 6.61 h V 2.91E-05 6.52E-03 

Cs-136 13.16 d V 6.09E-07 9.00E-01 

Cs-137 30.17 y V 7.28E-10 1.00E+00 9.12E-01 

Ba-137m 2.522 m V 9.46E-01n

 9.46E-01n

Ba-140 12.789 d V-R 6.27E-07 8.97E-01 

La-140 40.22 h V-R 5.90E-01n

La-141 3.94 h V-R 4.89E-05h 1.80E-05 0.00E+00 

Ce-141 32.50 d V-R 3.76E-04h,n 3.02E-14h,n

Ce-143 33.0 h R 6.42E-04i 3.35E-03 

Pr-143 13.56 d R 5.49E-04i,n

Ce-144 284.3 d R 2.82E-08 9.95E-01 2.85E-02 

Pr-144 17.14 m R 1.00E+00n

 1.00E+00n

Pr-145 5.98 h R 3.22E-05 3.84E-03 

Nd-147 10.98 d R 7.30E-07j 6.69E-04 9.57E-41 

Pm-147 2.6234 y R 1.03E-06n

 4.21E+37n
A-4

Table A.1 (continued)

Nuclide Half-life 

Volatile (V) or 

Refractory (R)a Specific activity 

(Bq/atom) 

2-day buildupdecay factor 

(branching ratio) 

4-year buildupdecay factor 

Pm-149 53.08 h R 1.11E-04k

 1.80E-02n

Pm-151 28.4 h R 8.89E-04l

 2.38E-03n

Sm-153 46.7 h R 4.12E-06 4.91E-01 

Eu-155 4.96 y R 4.43E-09 1.00E+00 5.72E-01 

Sm-156 9.4 h R 2.05E-05 2.91E-02 

Eu-156 15.19 d R 5.28E-07 8.05E-01 

Eu-157 15.13 h R 1.27E-05 1.11E-01 

Gd-159 18.6 h R 1.03E-05 1.67E-01 

U-237 6.75 d R 1.19E-06 8.14E-01 

Np-239 2.355 d R 4.94E-04m 2.91E-03n

a

V-R = radionuclides with volatility intermediate between that of volatiles and refractories. 

b

Specific activity of 15.4-min Rb-89 precursor (7.50E-04 Bq/atom) is used in 2-day calculations. c

Specific activity of 23-min Pd-111 precursor used in calculations. 

d

Specific activity of 21-min Ag-115 precursor (5.50E-04 Bq/atom) is used in 2-day calculations for Cd-115m, 

Cd-115, and In-115m. 

e

Specific activity of 19-min Sb-126m precursor used in calculations. 

f

Specific activity of 2.1-h Sn-127 precursor (9.17E-05 Bq/atom) is used in 2-day calculations. 

g

Specific activity of 55.4-min Te-133m precursor used in calculations. 

h

Specific activity of 18.3-min Ba-141 precursor (6.32E-04 Bq/atom) is used in 2-day calculations. 

i

Specific activity of 18-min La-143 precursor used in calculations. 

j

Specific activity of 12-min Pr-147 precursor (9.63E-04 Bq/atom) is used in 2-day calculations. 

k

Specific activity of 1.73-h Nd-149 precursor used in calculations. 

l

Specific activity of 13-min Nd-151 precursor used in calculations. mSpecific activity of 23.4-min U-239 precursor used in calculations. n

Product of decay of a precursor produced directly in fission. 

o

Additional contribution from decay of Ge-77 (buildup-decay factor = 2.90) must be included. 

p

Additional contribution from decay of Zr-95 via Nb-95m (buildup-decay factor = 6.57E-03; branching ratio = 

0.0074) must be included. 

q

Additional contribution from decay of Sn-125 (buildup-decay factor = 1.47E-03; branching ratio = 0.231) 

must be included. 

r

Additional contribution from decay of Sn-125 via Sb-125 (buildup-decay factor = 1.55E-05) must be included. s

Additional contribution from decay of Sb-127 via Te-127m (buildup-decay factor = 5.64E-03; branching ratio 

= 0.1659) must be included. 

t

Additional contribution from decay of Te-129m (buildup-decay factor = 1.00E+00; branching ratio = 0.629) 

must be included. 

u

Additional contribution from decay of Sb-131 (buildup-decay factor = 2.09E+35; branching ratio = 0.07) must 

be included. 

v

Additional contribution from decay of Sb-131 via Te-131m (buildup-decay factor = 4.33E-03; branching ratio 

= 0.0155) must be included. 

wMultiple contributions from decay of Sb-131, Te-131m, and Te-131 (6 decay pathways; see Table A.2). x

Activity of Y-91 calculated from fission yield of Sr-91 and specific activity of Y-91 (1.37E-07 Bq/atom).. 

y

Additional contribution from decay of Zr-95 via Nb-95m (buildup-decay factor = 3.21E-07; branching ratio = 

0.0074) must be included. 

z

Activity of Te-129m calculated from fission yield of Sb-129 and specific activity of Te-129m. 
A-5

Table A.2. Decay relationships used in calculating activity of I-131 produced in fission 

Nuclide Half-life λ (h-1) 

Specific activity 

(Bq/atom) Decay pathway Branching ratio 

2-day buildupdecay factor 

Sb-131 23 m 1.81E+00 5.02E-04 Sb-131→Te-131→I-131 0.93 1.68E-03 

Sb-131→Te-131m→I-131a 0.07 1.20E-03 

Te-131m 30 h 2.31E-02 6.42E-06 Te-131m→I-131 0.778 2.85E-01 

Te-131m→Te-131→I-131 0.222 9.37E-02 

Te-131 25.0 m 1.66E+00 4.62E-04 Te-131→I-131 1 8.49E+31 

I-131 8.04 d 3.59E-03 ─ ─ ─ ─

a

Decay pathway Sb-131→Te-131m→Te-131→I-131 was merged with this pathway to obviate the need to deal 

with a 4-member decay chain. This simplification is justified when influence of short-lived Te-131 decay product on 

I-131 activity is expected to be negligible, give that its half-life is about 1% of that for Te-131m and about 0.2% of 

that for I-131. 
A-6

Table A.3. Fission yields and activities of radionuclides after 2 days of decaya

Nuclide 

Fission 

yield 

(atoms per 

fission) 

U-235 nf 

Fission 

yield 

(atoms per 

fission) 

Pu-239 nf 

Fission 

yield 

(atoms per 

fission) 

U-238 nf 

Fission 

yield 

(atoms per 

fission) 

U-238 n14 

Activity 

(Bq/fission)

U-235 nf 

Activity 

(Bq/fission)

Pu-239 nf 

Activity 

(Bq/fission)

U-238 nf 

Activity 

(Bq/fission)

U-238 n14 

Ge-77 1.19E-04 6.09E-05 1.08E-05 1.15E-04 1.07E-10 5.46E-11 9.69E-12 1.03E-10 

As-77 1.99E-04 6.50E-05 2.23E-05 1.97E-04 7.28E-10 2.95E-10 7.50E-11 7.14E-10 

Sr-89 4.37E-02 1.73E-02 2.76E-02 2.92E-02 6.75E-09 2.67E-09 4.26E-09 4.51E-09 

Sr-90 5.47E-02 2.05E-02 3.25E-02 3.19E-02 4.20E-11 1.58E-11 2.50E-11 2.45E-11 

Y-90 1.70E-11 6.38E-12 1.01E-11 9.92E-12 

Sr-91 5.73E-02 2.51E-02 4.04E-02 3.87E-02 3.50E-08 1.53E-08 2.47E-08 2.36E-08 

Y-91m 2.20E-08 9.64E-09 1.55E-08 1.49E-08 

Y-91 7.49E-09 3.28E-09 2.13E-10 5.06E-09 

Sr-92 5.84E-02 3.02E-02 4.31E-02 3.88E-02 1.94E-11 1.00E-11 1.43E-11 1.29E-11 

Y-92 1.06E-09 5.49E-10 7.83E-10 7.05E-10 

Y-93 6.25E-02 3.82E-02 4.91E-02 4.53E-02 4.42E-08 2.70E-08 3.47E-08 3.21E-08 

Zr-95 6.43E-02 4.67E-02 5.14E-02 4.89E-02 7.89E-09 5.73E-09 6.31E-09 5.73E-09 

Nb-95m 1.91E-11 1.39E-11 1.52E-11 1.39E-11 

Nb-95 2.93E-10 2.13E-10 2.34E-10 2.13E-10 

Zr-97 6.00E-02 5.27E-02 5.56E-02 5.28E-02 9.55E-08 8.39E-08 8.85E-08 8.40E-08 

Nb-97m 9.04E-08 7.94E-08 8.38E-08 7.96E-08 

Nb-97 1.03E-07 9.03E-08 9.52E-08 9.04E-08 

Mo-99 5.94E-02 5.98E-02 6.17E-02 5.71E-02 1.05E-07 1.05E-07 1.09E-07 1.01E-07 

Tc-99m 1.01E-07 1.02E-07 1.05E-07 9.74E-08 

Ru-103 3.24E-02 6.83E-02 6.28E-02 4.62E-02 6.38E-09 1.34E-08 1.24E-08 9.09E-09 

Rh-103m 6.36E-09 1.34E-08 1.23E-08 9.07E-09 

Ru-105 1.20E-02 5.36E-02 4.05E-02 3.22E-02 2.90E-10 1.30E-09 9.79E-10 7.78E-10 

Rh-105m 7.11E-11 3.17E-10 2.40E-10 1.91E-10 

Rh-105 2.91E-08 1.30E-07 9.83E-08 7.81E-08 

Ru-106 5.32E-03 4.36E-02 2.49E-02 2.45E-02 1.15E-10 9.46E-10 5.40E-10 5.32E-10 

Rh-106 1.15E-10 9.46E-10 5.40E-10 5.32E-10 

Pd-109 8.15E-04 1.04E-02 2.52E-03 1.12E-02 9.92E-10 1.27E-08 3.07E-09 1.36E-08 

Ag-109m 9.92E-10 1.27E-08 3.07E-09 1.36E-08 

Ag-111 4.24E-04 3.56E-03 7.10E-04 9.89E-03 3.79E-10 3.18E-09 6.35E-10 8.85E-09 

Pd-112 3.77E-04 1.89E-03 5.59E-04 1.03E-02 6.89E-10 3.45E-09 1.02E-09 1.88E-08 

Ag-112 8.16E-10 4.09E-09 1.21E-09 2.23E-08 

Ag-113 2.93E-04 1.15E-03 4.15E-04 8.23E-03 2.00E-11 7.85E-11 2.83E-11 5.62E-10 

Cd-113m 3.82E-06 1.49E-05 5.39E-06 1.07E-04 6.13E-15 2.39E-14 8.65E-15 1.72E-13 

Cd-115m 2.80E-05 6.73E-05 3.11E-05 7.09E-04 4.88E-12 1.17E-11 5.42E-12 1.24E-10 

Cd-115 3.11E-04 7.47E-04 3.44E-04 7.86E-03 6.05E-10 1.45E-09 6.69E-10 1.53E-08 

In-115m 6.58E-10 1.58E-09 7.28E-10 1.66E-08 

Sn-121 3.67E-04 6.20E-04 3.69E-04 8.33E-03 7.64E-10 1.29E-09 7.68E-10 1.73E-08 

Sn-123 3.96E-05 2.00E-04 3.33E-06 4.65E-05 2.43E-12 1.23E-11 2.05E-13 2.86E-12 

Sn-125 4.14E-04 1.18E-03 2.64E-04 6.36E-03 2.98E-10 8.50E-10 1.90E-10 4.58E-09 

Sb-125 6.80E-04 1.78E-03 4.85E-04 1.20E-02 5.83E-12 1.54E-11 4.12E-12 1.02E-10 

Te-125m 3.29E-14 8.69E-14 2.32E-14 5.72E-13 

Sb-126 1.37E-04 3.86E-04 7.58E-05 1.91E-03 7.93E-11 2.23E-10 4.39E-11 1.11E-09 

Sb-127 3.06E-03 5.01E-03 1.36E-03 1.49E-02 4.55E-09 7.45E-09 2.02E-09 2.22E-08 

Te-127 4.00E-09 6.54E-09 1.78E-09 1.95E-08 

Te-127m 1.08E-11 1.77E-11 4.81E-12 5.27E-11 

Sb-128 5.34E-05 3.87E-04 1.47E-05 1.39E-03 2.92E-11 2.12E-10 8.04E-12 7.60E-10 
A-7

Table A.3 (continued) 

Nuclide 

Fission 

yield 

(atoms per 

fission) 

U-235 nf 

Fission 

yield 

(atoms per 

fission) 

Pu-239 nf 

Fission 

yield 

(atoms per 

fission) 

U-238 nf 

Fission 

yield 

(atoms per 

fission) 

U-238 n14 

Activity 

(Bq/fission)

U-235 nf 

Activity 

(Bq/fission)

Pu-239 nf 

Activity 

(Bq/fission)

U-238 nf 

Activity 

(Bq/fission)

U-238 n14 

Sb-129 8.35E-03 1.45E-02 1.01E-02 2.05E-02 1.90E-10 3.30E-10 2.30E-10 4.67E-10 

Te-129 4.16E-10 7.23E-10 5.03E-10 1.02E-09 

Te-129m 3.19E-10 5.54E-10 3.86E-10 7.83E-10 

I-130 1.71E-05 2.89E-05 4.06E-12 3.15E-05 1.80E-11 3.05E-11 4.29E-18 3.33E-11 

Sb-131 2.92E-02 2.89E-02 3.25E-02 3.72E-02 

Te-131m 2.24E-03 7.14E-03 3.65E-04 1.60E-03 9.12E-09 1.95E-08 5.65E-09 8.97E-09 

Te-131 7.54E-04 2.51E-03 3.55E-06 9.78E-04 9.87E-10 9.77E-10 1.10E-09 1.26E-09 

I-131 3.22E-02 3.88E-02 3.29E-02 3.99E-02 2.61E-08 3.03E-08 2.71E-08 3.25E-08 

Te-132 4.66E-02 5.15E-02 5.13E-02 4.65E-02 7.50E-08 8.29E-08 8.25E-08 7.48E-08 

I-132 7.50E-08 8.29E-08 8.25E-08 7.48E-08 

I-133 6.72E-02 6.91E-02 6.76E-02 6.00E-02 1.32E-07 1.35E-07 1.32E-07 1.17E-07 

I-135 6.30E-02 6.08E-02 6.94E-02 5.50E-02 1.20E-08 1.16E-08 1.32E-08 1.04E-08 

Cs-136 1.17E-04 1.23E-03 9.60E-06 2.12E-04 6.42E-11 6.75E-10 5.27E-12 1.16E-10 

Cs-137 6.22E-02 6.58E-02 6.05E-02 5.15E-02 4.53E-11 4.79E-11 4.41E-11 3.75E-11 

Ba-137m 4.29E-11 4.53E-11 4.17E-11 3.55E-11 

Ba-140 5.98E-02 5.32E-02 5.82E-02 4.61E-02 3.37E-08 2.99E-08 3.28E-08 2.59E-08 

La-140 1.99E-08 1.77E-08 1.93E-08 1.53E-08 

La-141 5.95E-02 5.15E-02 5.34E-02 4.38E-02 6.79E-10 5.88E-10 6.09E-10 5.00E-10 

Ce-141 1.41E-08 1.22E-08 1.27E-08 1.04E-08 

Ce-143 5.73E-02 4.34E-02 4.62E-02 3.91E-02 1.23E-07 9.32E-08 9.93E-08 8.40E-08 

Pr-143 2.02E-08 1.53E-08 1.63E-08 1.38E-08 

Ce-144 5.27E-02 3.67E-02 4.55E-02 3.72E-02 1.48E-09 1.03E-09 1.28E-09 1.04E-09 

Pr-144 1.48E-09 1.03E-09 1.28E-09 1.04E-09 

Pr-145 3.78E-02 3.00E-02 3.81E-02 3.00E-02 4.67E-09 3.71E-09 4.71E-09 3.71E-09 

Nd-147 2.14E-02 1.99E-02 2.59E-02 2.09E-02 1.38E-08 1.28E-08 1.67E-08 1.35E-08 

Pm-147 2.14E-02 1.99E-02 2.59E-02 2.09E-02 1.36E-17 1.27E-17 1.65E-17 1.33E-17 

Pm-149 1.04E-02 1.24E-02 1.63E-02 1.46E-02 2.08E-08 2.48E-08 3.26E-08 2.92E-08 

Pm-151 4.12E-03 7.85E-03 7.99E-03 8.01E-03 8.72E-09 1.66E-08 1.69E-08 1.70E-08 

Sm-153 1.67E-03 4.26E-03 4.15E-03 3.92E-03 3.38E-09 8.61E-09 8.39E-09 7.93E-09 

Eu-155 3.95E-04 2.09E-03 1.42E-03 1.55E-03 1.75E-12 9.26E-12 6.29E-12 6.87E-12 

Sm-156 2.03E-04 1.53E-03 7.60E-04 1.14E-03 1.21E-10 9.10E-10 4.52E-10 6.78E-10 

Eu-156 9.72E-11 7.33E-10 3.64E-10 5.46E-10 

Eu-157 1.06E-04 1.06E-03 4.14E-04 8.03E-04 1.50E-10 1.50E-09 5.84E-10 1.13E-09 

Gd-159 3.01E-05 3.85E-04 8.62E-05 2.60E-04 5.21E-11 6.66E-10 1.49E-10 4.50E-10 

U-237 1.50E-01 1.50E-01 1.50E-01 1.50E-01 1.45E-07 1.45E-07 1.45E-07 1.45E-07 

Np-239 3.00E-01 3.00E-01 3.00E-01 3.00E-01 4.30E-07 4.30E-07 4.30E-07 4.30E-07 a

Source for fission yields: England and Rider (1994). Activities after 2 days of decay are calculated as 

described in text, using specific activities and mass-chain decay relationships provided in Tables A.1 and A.2. 
A-8

Table A.4. Calculated activities of radionuclides after 4 years of decaya

Nuclide 

Activity 

(Bq/fission) 

U-235 nf 

Activity 

(Bq/fission) 

Pu-239 nf 

Activity 

(Bq/fission) 

U-238 nf 

Activity 

(Bq/fission) 

U-238 n14 

Sr-89 1.38E-17 5.46E-18 8.71E-18 9.22E-18 

Sr-90 3.81E-11 1.43E-11 2.27E-11 2.22E-11 

Y-90 3.82E-11 1.43E-11 2.27E-11 2.23E-11 

Y-91 2.43E-16 1.06E-16 1.71E-16 1.64E-16 

Zr-95 1.10E-15 8.01E-16 8.82E-16 8.39E-16 

Nb-95m 9.12E-18 6.62E-18 7.29E-18 6.93E-18 

Nb-95 2.44E-15 1.77E-15 1.95E-15 1.85E-15 

Ru-103 4.50E-20 9.48E-20 8.72E-20 6.41E-20 

Rh-103m 4.49E-20 9.46E-20 8.70E-20 6.40E-20 

Ru-106 7.42E-12 6.08E-11 3.47E-11 3.42E-11 

Rh-106 7.42E-12 6.08E-11 3.47E-11 3.42E-11 

Cd-113m 5.00E-15 1.95E-14 7.06E-15 1.40E-13 

Cd-115m 7.08E-22 1.70E-21 7.86E-22 1.79E-20 

Sn-123 9.76E-16 4.93E-15 8.21E-17 1.15E-15 

Sb-125 3.19E-12 8.63E-12 2.18E-12 5.35E-11 

Te-125m 7.82E-13 2.12E-12 5.35E-13 1.31E-11 

Te-127 3.60E-15 5.90E-15 1.60E-15 1.75E-14 

Te-127m 3.67E-15 6.01E-15 1.63E-15 1.79E-14 

Te-129 1.74E-23 1.74E-23 1.74E-23 1.74E-23 

Te-129m 2.77E-23 2.77E-23 2.77E-23 2.77E-23 

Cs-137 4.13E-11 4.37E-11 4.02E-11 3.42E-11 

Ba-137m 3.91E-11 4.14E-11 3.80E-11 3.24E-11 

Ce-141 3.48E-21 3.02E-21 3.13E-21 2.57E-21 

Ce-144 4.23E-11 2.95E-11 3.65E-11 2.99E-11 

Pr-144 4.23E-11 2.95E-11 3.65E-11 2.99E-11 

Pm-147 6.30E-11 5.86E-11 7.63E-11 6.16E-11 

Eu-155 1.00E-12 5.30E-12 3.60E-12 3.93E-12 a

Activities after 4 years of decay are calculated as described in text, using specific activities and mass-chain 

decay relationships from Table A.1 and fission yields from Table A.3. 
A-9

Table A.5. Dose coefficients for external exposure and effective dose coefficients for 

internal exposure of members of the public 

External exposure Internal exposure 

Nuclide 

Skin DF (skin 

deposition) 

(Sv/h per 

Bq/cm2

)

a

Effective DF 

(ground 

deposition) 

(Sv/h per 

Bq/cm2

)

b

Skin DF (ground 

deposition) 

(Sv/h per 

Bq/cm2

)

c

 Effective DF 

(inhalation) 

(Sv/Bq)d 

 Effective DF 

(ingestion) 

(Sv/Bq)d 

Ge-77 2.28E-06 3.78E-08 2.96E-07 3.70E-10 3.30E-10 

As-77 1.94E-06 3.22E-10 2.03E-09 3.90E-10 4.00E-10 

Sr-89 2.28E-06 8.17E-11 2.40E-07 1.00E-09 2.60E-09 

Sr-90 1.83E-06 1.02E-11 5.04E-09 2.40E-08 2.80E-08 

Y-90 2.40E-06 1.92E-10 3.78E-07 1.50E-09 2.70E-09 

Sr-91 2.28E-06 2.44E-08 2.71E-07 1.60E-10 6.50E-10 

Y-91m 3.65E-08 1.88E-08 3.43E-08 1.10E-11 1.10E-11 

Y-91 2.28E-06 2.07E-10 2.49E-07 8.90E-09 2.40E-09 

Sr-92 1.83E-06 4.50E-08 6.70E-08 9.80E-11 4.30E-10 

Y-92 2.51E-06 9.11E-09 5.00E-07 1.80E-10 4.90E-10 

Y-93 2.51E-06 3.28E-09 4.43E-07 4.20E-10 1.20E-09 

Zr-95 1.37E-06 2.60E-08 3.21E-08 4.80E-09 9.50E-10 

Nb-95m 1.83E-06 2.25E-09 3.92E-09 8.80E-10 5.60E-10 

Nb-95 2.63E-07 2.69E-08 3.26E-08 1.80E-09 5.80E-10 

Zr-97 2.28E-06 6.26E-09 2.98E-07 9.20E-10 2.10E-09 

Nb-97m 4.68E-08 2.56E-08 3.89E-08 

Nb-97 2.17E-07 2.35E-08 2.00E-07 4.50E-11 6.80E-11 

Mo-99 2.17E-06 5.29E-09 1.35E-07 9.90E-10 6.00E-10 

Tc-99m 2.40E-07 4.03E-09 5.18E-09 1.90E-11 2.20E-11 

Ru-103 6.62E-07 1.67E-08 2.22E-08 3.00E-09 7.30E-10 

Rh-103m 0.00E+00 4.50E-11 2.48E-10 2.70E-12 3.80E-12 

Ru-105 2.17E-06 2.77E-08 1.61E-07 1.80E-10 2.60E-10 

Rh-105m 1.83E-06 2.66E-09 3.56E-09 0.00E+00 0.00E+00 

Rh-105 1.48E-06 2.74E-09 6.34E-09 3.50E-10 3.70E-10 

Ru-106 0.00E+00 0.00E+00 0.00E+00 6.60E-08 7.00E-09 

Rh-106 2.51E-06 7.63E-09 5.11E-07 

Pd-109 1.94E-06 4.03E-10 1.03E-07 3.70E-10 5.50E-10 

Ag-109m 5.14E-07 3.50E-10 3.28E-17 

Ag-111 2.17E-06 9.61E-10 9.90E-08 1.70E-09 1.30E-09 

Pd-112 9.13E-07 3.96E-10 2.18E-09 8.50E-10 9.40E-10 

Ag-112 2.51E-06 2.28E-08 4.97E-07 1.70E-10 4.30E-10 

Ag-113 2.28E-06 3.60E-09 4.82E-07 8.50E-11 2.15E-10 

Cd-113m 1.71E-06 9.47E-12 5.58E-09 3.10E-08 2.30E-08 

Cd-115m 2.28E-06 8.42E-10 2.52E-07 7.70E-09 3.30E-09 

Cd-115 2.05E-06 8.32E-09 8.21E-08 1.10E-09 1.40E-09 

In-115m 0.00E+00 6.52E-12 7.45E-10 5.90E-11 8.60E-11 

Sn-121 1.37E-06 3.78E-12 1.08E-11 2.30E-10 2.30E-10 

Sn-123 2.28E-06 4.86E-09 1.71E-07 8.10E-09 2.10E-09 

Sn-125 2.40E-06 1.08E-08 3.32E-07 3.10E-09 3.10E-09 

Sb-125 8.45E-07 1.53E-08 2.15E-08 4.80E-09 1.10E-09 

Te-125m 1.14E-06 1.30E-09 3.40E-09 3.40E-09 8.70E-10 
A-10

Table A.5 (continued) 

External exposure Internal exposure 

Nuclide 

Skin DF (skin 

deposition) 

(Sv/h per 

Bq/cm2

)

a

Effective DF 

(ground 

deposition) 

(Sv/h per 

Bq/cm2

)

b

Skin DF (ground 

deposition) 

(Sv/h per 

Bq/cm2

)

c

 Effective DF 

(inhalation) 

(Sv/Bq)d

 Effective DF 

(ingestion) 

(Sv/Bq)d

Sb-126 1.83E-06 1.00E-07 1.92E-07 2.80E-09 2.40E-09 

Sb-127 2.05E-06 2.43E-08 1.03E-07 1.70E-09 1.70E-09 

Te-127 1.83E-06 1.86E-10 1.94E-08 1.30E-10 1.70E-10 

Te-127m 5.37E-07 4.07E-08 1.87E-09 7.40E-09 2.30E-09 

Sb-128 2.51E-06 1.09E-07 2.69E-07 4.00E-10 7.60E-10 

Sb-129 1.94E-06 4.97E-08 1.84E-07 2.30E-10 4.20E-10 

Te-129 2.28E-06 2.16E-09 2.07E-07 3.70E-11 6.30E-11 

Te-129m 1.48E-06 1.36E-09 8.17E-08 6.60E-09 3.00E-09 

I-130 1.94E-06 7.56E-08 1.54E-07 6.70E-10 2.00E-09 

Te-131m 1.71E-06 4.93E-08 7.92E-08 9.40E-10 1.90E-09 

Te-131 2.63E-06 1.48E-08 3.01E-07 2.80E-11 8.70E-11 

I-131 1.71E-06 1.35E-08 2.31E-08 7.40E-09 2.20E-08 

Te-132 7.99E-07 8.21E-09 1.08E-08 2.00E-09 3.80E-09 

I-132 2.17E-06 7.96E-08 2.71E-07 9.40E-11 2.90E-10 

I-133 2.17E-06 2.15E-08 1.64E-07 1.50E-09 4.30E-09 

I-135 2.05E-06 5.29E-08 1.74E-07 3.20E-10 9.30E-10 

Cs-136 1.48E-06 7.52E-08 9.14E-08 1.20E-09 3.00E-09 

Cs-137 1.60E-06 1.03E-11 9.90E-09 4.60E-09 1.30E-08 

Ba-137m 2.40E-07 2.11E-08 5.94E-08 

Ba-140 1.94E-06 6.48E-09 7.02E-08 1.00E-09 2.60E-09 

La-140 2.28E-06 7.78E-08 2.97E-07 1.10E-09 2.00E-09 

La-141 2.40E-06 1.63E-09 3.89E-07 1.50E-10 3.60E-10 

Ce-141 1.94E-06 2.66E-09 4.75E-09 3.80E-09 7.10E-10 

Ce-143 2.17E-06 1.00E-08 1.44E-07 8.30E-10 1.10E-09 

Pr-143 2.05E-06 2.52E-11 7.20E-08 2.40E-09 1.20E-09 

Ce-144 1.02E-06 7.31E-10 9.40E-10 5.30E-08 5.20E-09 

Pr-144 2.51E-06 1.36E-09 4.57E-07 1.80E-11 5.00E-11 

Pr-145 2.28E-06 5.62E-10 2.84E-07 1.70E-10 3.90E-10 

Nd-147 1.94E-06 5.00E-09 3.96E-08 2.40E-09 1.10E-09 

Pm-147 6.16E-07 1.23E-12 4.32E-12 4.90E-09 2.60E-10 

Pm-149 2.17E-06 4.07E-10 1.07E-07 7.30E-10 9.90E-10 

Pm-151 1.94E-06 1.13E-08 7.45E-08 4.60E-10 7.30E-10 

Sm-153 2.05E-06 2.24E-09 2.56E-08 6.30E-10 7.40E-10 

Eu-155 3.31E-07 2.12E-09 2.53E-09 6.90E-09 3.20E-10 

Sm-156 1.83E-06 4.21E-09 1.55E-08 2.20E-10 2.50E-10 

Eu-156 2.17E-06 4.43E-08 1.82E-07 3.40E-09 2.20E-09 

Eu-157 2.17E-06 9.40E-09 1.21E-07 2.80E-10 6.00E-10 

Gd-159 2.05E-06 1.81E-09 6.62E-08 2.70E-10 4.90E-10 

U-237 6.51E-07 4.79E-09 7.45E-09 1.90E-09 7.60E-10 

Np-239 2.63E-06 5.87E-09 9.47E-09 9.30E-10 8.00E-10 

 
A-11

 Footnotes to Table A.5______________________________ a

Dose coefficient for exposure of skin to electrons emitted by radionuclides deposited on surface of skin 

obtained from Kocher and Eckerman (1987). 

b

Effective dose coefficient for exposure to photons emitted by radionuclides deposited on ground surface 

obtained from Eckerman and Ryman (1993). c

Dose coefficient for exposure of skin to electrons emitted by radionuclides deposited on ground surface 

obtained from Eckerman and Ryman (1993).

d

Effective dose coefficient obtained from ICRP (2002). No entry means value is not calculated by ICRP due to 

short half-life of radionuclide; contributions to dose following intake of longer-lived parent radionuclide are taken 

into account in dose coefficient for parent. 
A-12

Table A.6. Dose coefficients for internal exposure of workersa

Nuclide 

Red 

marrow DF 

(ingestion) 

(Sv/Bq) 

Colon DF 

(ingestion) 

(Sv/Bq) 

Pancreas 

DF 

(ingestion) 

(Sv/Bq) 

Effective 

DF 

(ingestion) 

(Sv/Bq) 

Red 

marrow DF 

(inhalation) 

(Sv/Bq) 

Lung DF 

(inhalation) 

(Sv/Bq) 

Pancreas 

DF 

(inhalation) 

(Sv/Bq) 

Effective 

DF 

inhalation 

(Sv/Bq) 

Ge-77 9.00E-11 7.40E-10 1.20E-10 3.30E-10 3.10E-11 1.90E-09 3.70E-11 3.60E-10 

As-77 2.50E-11 2.80E-09 2.50E-11 4.00E-10 6.90E-12 2.40E-09 6.90E-12 3.80E-10 

Sr-89 4.80E-09 1.40E-08 2.00E-10 2.60E-09 4.30E-09 2.00E-10 1.80E-10 1.00E-09 

Sr-90 1.80E-07 1.30E-08 6.60E-10 2.80E-08 1.60E-07 6.20E-10 6.00E-10 2.40E-08 

Y-90 3.70E-13 2.10E-08 1.30E-14 2.70E-09 1.20E-12 7.50E-09 4.20E-14 1.50E-09 

Sr-91 1.60E-10 3.80E-09 6.80E-11 6.50E-10 1.30E-10 5.00E-11 2.90E-11 1.70E-10 

Y-91m 2.20E-12 2.60E-11 9.80E-12 1.10E-11 9.70E-13 4.70E-11 2.00E-12 1.10E-11 

Y-91 6.60E-12 1.90E-08 5.50E-13 2.40E-09 2.90E-09 4.70E-08 3.90E-12 6.70E-09 

Sr-92 6.40E-11 2.70E-09 5.10E-11 4.30E-10 6.10E-11 3.60E-11 1.80E-11 1.10E-10 

Y-92 4.80E-12 2.60E-09 9.00E-12 4.90E-10 1.90E-12 6.50E-10 2.60E-12 2.00E-10 

Y-93 4.40E-12 8.30E-09 5.10E-12 1.20E-09 1.80E-12 1.50E-09 1.80E-12 4.30E-10 

Zr-95 2.10E-10 5.10E-09 1.10E-10 8.80E-10 2.30E-09 2.90E-08 9.60E-10 4.50E-09 

Nb-95m 2.40E-11 4.30E-09 1.20E-11 5.60E-10 3.60E-11 5.80E-09 4.30E-11 8.50E-10 

Nb-95 1.80E-10 2.80E-09 1.20E-10 5.80E-10 3.20E-10 1.10E-08 3.90E-10 1.60E-09 

Zr-97 1.20E-10 1.50E-08 1.00E-10 2.10E-09 7.90E-11 3.20E-09 4.70E-11 9.40E-10 

Nb-97m 

Nb-97 4.10E-12 1.40E-10 1.40E-11 6.80E-11 1.70E-12 1.50E-10 3.40E-12 4.70E-11 

Mo-99 5.00E-10 2.30E-09 2.70E-10 7.40E-10 2.60E-11 5.60E-09 2.20E-11 9.70E-10 

Tc-99m 4.20E-12 3.70E-11 9.90E-12 2.20E-11 1.60E-12 7.20E-11 2.80E-12 1.90E-11 

Ru-103 1.60E-10 4.30E-09 1.30E-10 7.30E-10 2.30E-10 2.00E-08 3.00E-10 2.80E-09 

Rh-103m 5.00E-15 5.70E-12 3.30E-14 3.80E-12 1.40E-15 1.50E-11 6.30E-15 2.50E-12 

Ru-105 2.20E-11 1.50E-09 3.50E-11 2.60E-10 8.40E-12 7.40E-10 1.10E-11 1.80E-10 

Rh-105m 

Rh-105 1.20E-11 2.70E-09 1.10E-11 3.70E-10 4.80E-12 2.20E-09 4.60E-12 3.40E-10 

Ru-106 1.50E-09 4.50E-08 1.50E-09 7.00E-09 9.60E-10 5.00E-07 1.10E-09 6.20E-08 

Rh-106 

Pd-109 8.00E-13 4.10E-09 7.70E-13 5.50E-10 2.70E-13 2.00E-09 2.50E-13 3.60E-10 

Ag-109m 

Ag-111 2.20E-11 9.60E-09 2.20E-11 1.30E-09 8.00E-12 1.10E-08 8.70E-12 1.70E-09 

Pd-112 2.40E-10 4.60E-09 1.20E-10 9.40E-10 1.80E-10 3.40E-09 1.90E-10 8.30E-10 

Ag-112 1.20E-11 2.10E-09 2.30E-11 4.30E-10 4.40E-12 5.70E-10 6.30E-12 1.80E-10 

Ag-113 6.00E-12 1.05E-09 1.15E-11 2.15E-10 2.20E-12 2.85E-10 3.15E-12 9.00E-11 

Cd-113m 3.50E-09 9.20E-09 3.50E-09 2.30E-08 1.80E-09 1.60E-07 1.80E-09 3.00E-08 

Cd-115m 1.70E-10 1.80E-08 1.80E-10 3.30E-09 5.60E-11 5.50E-08 6.00E-11 7.30E-09 

Cd-115 6.40E-11 1.00E-08 5.20E-11 1.40E-09 2.90E-11 6.20E-09 2.80E-11 1.10E-09 

In-115m 4.90E-12 4.80E-10 7.50E-12 8.60E-11 3.20E-12 2.40E-10 2.40E-12 6.00E-11 

Sn-121 2.30E-12 1.80E-09 2.00E-13 2.30E-10 3.60E-12 1.40E-09 3.30E-13 2.20E-10 

Sn-123 2.50E-10 1.60E-08 3.30E-11 2.10E-09 8.10E-10 5.80E-08 1.10E-10 7.70E-09 

Sn-125 2.10E-10 2.40E-08 4.60E-11 3.10E-09 3.40E-10 1.80E-08 7.10E-11 3.00E-09 

Sb-125 1.50E-09 4.10E-09 3.80E-10 1.10E-09 1.60E-09 3.00E-08 8.30E-10 4.50E-09 

Te-125m 1.70E-09 2.80E-09 6.00E-11 8.70E-10 6.80E-10 2.50E-08 3.70E-11 3.30E-09 

Sb-126 9.00E-10 1.20E-08 4.80E-10 2.40E-09 6.20E-10 1.60E-08 5.90E-10 2.70E-09 

Sb-127 3.00E-10 1.20E-08 1.10E-10 1.70E-09 1.20E-10 1.00E-08 6.80E-11 1.60E-09 

Te-127 1.00E-11 1.10E-09 4.70E-12 1.70E-10 3.10E-12 7.00E-10 1.40E-12 1.20E-10 

Te-127m 8.20E-09 6.20E-09 1.30E-10 2.30E-09 3.60E-09 5.30E-08 6.70E-11 7.20E-09 

Sb-128 1.60E-10 3.80E-09 1.90E-10 7.60E-10 6.20E-11 9.60E-10 6.20E-11 4.20E-10 
A-13

Table A.6 (continued) 

Nuclide 

Red 

marrow DF 

(ingestion) 

(Sv/Bq) 

Colon DF 

(ingestion) 

(Sv/Bq) 

Pancreas 

DF 

(ingestion) 

(Sv/Bq) 

Effective 

DF 

(ingestion) 

(Sv/Bq) 

Red 

marrow DF 

(inhalation) 

(Sv/Bq) 

Lung DF 

(inhalation) 

(Sv/Bq) 

Pancreas 

DF 

(inhalation) 

(Sv/Bq) 

Effective 

DF 

(inhalation) 

(Sv/Bq) 

Sb-129 4.20E-11 2.40E-09 6.00E-11 4.20E-10 1.70E-11 8.20E-10 2.40E-10 1.80E-11 

Te-129 9.40E-13 1.20E-10 1.90E-12 6.30E-11 4.40E-13 1.40E-10 3.80E-11 5.70E-13 

Te-129m 5.30E-09 1.40E-08 2.30E-10 3.00E-09 2.00E-09 4.50E-08 6.30E-09 1.10E-10 

I-130 7.50E-11 1.20E-10 1.20E-10 2.00E-09 3.40E-11 5.60E-11 6.90E-10 3.00E-11 

Te-131m 2.60E-10 5.90E-09 1.80E-10 1.90E-09 1.00E-10 4.30E-09 1.10E-09 8.00E-11 

Te-131 1.10E-12 1.90E-11 5.30E-12 8.70E-11 5.50E-13 8.70E-11 3.80E-11 1.10E-12 

I-131 1.00E-10 1.20E-10 6.10E-11 2.20E-08 3.80E-11 5.90E-11 7.60E-09 1.90E-11 

Te-132 5.30E-10 1.30E-08 3.70E-10 3.70E-09 2.40E-10 9.50E-09 2.20E-09 2.20E-10 

I-132 2.60E-11 4.60E-11 7.20E-11 2.90E-10 1.20E-11 3.50E-11 9.60E-11 1.50E-11 

I-133 4.70E-11 1.10E-10 5.70E-11 4.30E-09 1.90E-11 4.20E-11 1.50E-09 1.60E-11 

I-135 4.00E-11 7.30E-11 7.30E-11 9.30E-10 1.70E-11 4.00E-11 3.30E-10 1.80E-11 

Cs-136 2.80E-09 3.40E-09 3.40E-09 3.00E-09 1.00E-09 9.80E-10 1.30E-09 1.20E-09 

Cs-137 1.30E-08 1.50E-08 1.40E-08 1.30E-08 4.50E-09 4.40E-09 4.80E-09 5.00E-09 

Ba-137m 

Ba-140 7.10E-10 1.70E-08 1.40E-10 2.50E-09 1.40E-09 1.50E-10 1.00E-09 1.60E-10 

La-140 2.60E-10 1.30E-08 2.10E-10 2.00E-09 1.40E-10 3.70E-09 1.10E-09 1.20E-10 

La-141 9.40E-13 2.00E-09 1.60E-12 3.60E-10 3.00E-12 6.20E-10 1.50E-10 1.50E-12 

Ce-141 1.90E-11 5.50E-09 1.10E-11 7.10E-10 3.50E-11 2.80E-08 3.60E-09 4.20E-11 

Ce-143 3.50E-11 8.30E-09 2.80E-11 1.10E-09 1.50E-11 4.60E-09 8.10E-10 1.40E-11 

Pr-143 1.70E-12 9.30E-09 1.10E-14 1.20E-09 2.00E-12 1.70E-08 2.30E-09 1.30E-14 

Ce-144 1.90E-10 4.20E-08 1.90E-11 5.20E-09 1.10E-09 3.90E-07 4.90E-08 2.00E-10 

Pr-144 3.40E-14 1.00E-11 2.40E-13 5.00E-11 1.60E-14 5.30E-11 1.90E-11 4.10E-14 

Pr-145 4.60E-13 2.60E-09 6.40E-13 3.90E-10 1.90E-13 7.10E-10 1.70E-10 2.10E-13 

Nd-147 3.10E-11 8.20E-09 1.80E-11 1.10E-09 3.30E-11 1.70E-08 2.30E-09 3.20E-11 

Pm-147 3.50E-11 2.00E-09 3.30E-15 2.60E-10 3.70E-10 3.60E-08 4.60E-09 5.40E-14 

Pm-149 2.10E-12 7.80E-09 1.20E-12 9.90E-10 1.20E-12 4.10E-09 7.20E-10 7.20E-10 

Pm-151 3.60E-11 5.20E-09 3.00E-11 7.30E-10 1.50E-11 2.40E-09 4.50E-10 1.40E-11 

Sm-153 9.50E-12 5.70E-09 7.60E-12 7.40E-10 2.30E-11 3.70E-09 6.10E-10 5.20E-12 

Eu-155 7.00E-11 2.20E-09 1.70E-11 3.20E-10 9.80E-09 1.70E-08 6.50E-09 1.40E-09 

Sm-156 1.10E-11 1.70E-09 1.00E-11 2.50E-10 2.10E-11 1.20E-09 2.10E-10 1.20E-11 

Eu-156 2.30E-10 1.50E-08 1.50E-10 2.20E-09 6.10E-10 2.10E-08 3.30E-09 3.60E-10 

Eu-157 2.10E-11 4.30E-09 2.10E-11 6.00E-10 1.40E-11 1.30E-09 3.20E-10 8.70E-12 

Gd-159 4.60E-12 3.70E-09 4.40E-12 4.90E-10 8.80E-12 1.40E-09 2.70E-10 2.20E-12 

U-237 3.70E-11 5.70E-09 1.90E-11 7.70E-10 1.90E-11 1.30E-08 1.80E-09 2.20E-11 

Np-239 2.70E-11 6.00E-09 2.00E-11 8.00E-10 4.50E-11 5.90E-09 9.00E-10 1.40E-11 a

Dose coefficients for specific organs or tissues and effective dose coefficients obtained from ICRP (2002). No 

entry means value is not calculated by ICRP due to short half-life of radionuclide; contributions to dose following 

intake of longer-lived parent radionuclide are taken into account in dose coefficient for parent. 
DISTRIBUTION LIST 

DTRA-TR-07-5 

Additional copies are available at: 

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