Fission Product
| Thermal | Fast | 14 MeV | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 232Th | not fissile | 0.431 ± 0.089 | 1.68 ± 0.33 |
| 233U | 1.63 ± 0.26 | 1.73 ± 0.24 | 3.01 ± 0.43 |
| 235U | 0.706 ± 0.032 | 1.03 ± 0.26 | 1.59 ± 0.18 |
| 238U | not fissile | 0.622 ± 0.034 | 1.66 ± 0.19 |
| 239Pu | 1.407 ± 0.086 | 1.31 ± 0.13 | ? |
| 241Pu | 1.28 ± 0.36 | 1.67 ± 0.36 | ? |
129I is one of the 7 long-lived fission products that are produced in significant amounts. Its yield is 0.706% per fission (U-235). Larger proportions of other iodine isotopes like 131I are produced, but because these all have short half-lives, iodine in cooled spent nuclear fuel consists of about 5/6 129I and 1/6 the only stable iodine isotope, 127I.
Because 129I is long-lived and relatively mobile in the environment, it is of particular importance in long-term management of spent nuclear fuel. In a deep geological repository for unreprocessed used fuel, 129I is likely to be the radionuclide of most potential impact at long times.
Since 129I has a modest neutron absorption cross-section of 30 barns, and is relatively undiluted by other isotopes of the same element, it is being studied for disposal by nuclear transmutation by re-irradiation with neutrons or by high-powered lasers.
Read more about this topic: Iodine-129
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