Investigation of candidates for reactor produced radioactive materials in support of radiological training exercises

Bromine-82, Potassium-42 and Copper-64 have been successfully adopted as radioactive surrogates for outdoor large area contamination training. The goal of this project was to discover new materials that could supplement potassium bromide (KBr) and copper pellets in radiological dispersal device (RDD) training events to reduce the down time of the training fields and to broaden the toolbox of the RDD surrogates at Idaho National Laboratory. Of the ten different materials investigated, sodium nitrite, gallium metal, and gallium oxide presented the greatest promise due to their ability to meet or exceed selection criteria: half-lives (between 10 and 36 h), limited impurities (99.9%), and favorable National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) rating.