Radioactivity Produced by a Linac

Over 40 different materials have been irradiated in the 100 MeV bremsstrahlung beam from the NBS linac. The major contributions to the gamma ray spectrum from the radioactive products have been measured using a Ge(Li) detector. Measurements have been made of gamma rays of concern in the 30 minute to 30 day time interval but this includes in some cases gamma rays from nuclides with half lives as long as 30 years. Eighteen of the samples were pure materials and 25 were commonly used structural, shielding, electrical and mechanical components. In several important cases nuclides produced by multiple particle emission dominate the picture.