Separation of no-carrier-added astatine radionuclides from α-particle irradiated lead bismuth eutectic target: A classical method

Possibility of separation of no-carrier-added (NCA) astatine radionuclides from the bulk lead-bismuth-eutectic (LBE) target was explored in a simple way in the laboratory scale. A LBE target was irradiated by 40 MeV α-particles delivered from a cyclotron facility, India. Quantitative analysis of the irradiated target indicated the production of ^210,209At, ²⁰⁷Po radionuclides in the target matrix. The ^210,209At radionuclides were separated by precipitation of bulk Pb, Bi and NCA radiotoxic Po radionuclides. - Highlights: • Production of ^210,209At and ²⁰⁷Po from α-particles induced reaction on LBE. • Radiochemical separation of NCA astatine from bulk LBE. • Precipitation technique applied successfully in the separation of NCA astatine. • The method is classical, yet simple, fast and reliable.