Americium

CAS ID #: 7440-35-9

Affected Organ Systems: Musculoskeletal (Muscles and Skeleton), Neurological (Nervous System)

Cancer Classification: None

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Chemical Classification: Radionuclides (radioactive materials)

Summary: Americium is a man-made radioactive chemical. Americium has no naturally occurring or stable isotopes. Two important isotopes of americium are americium 241 (²⁴¹Am) (read as americium two-forty-one) and ²⁴³Am. Both isotopes have the same chemical behavior in the environment and the same chemical effects on your body. ²⁴¹Americium is used in ionization smoke detectors. There is no broad commercial use for ²⁴³Am. Nuclear reactors, nuclear explosions, or the radioactive transformation of plutonium can produce both ²⁴¹Am and ²⁴³Am. These isotopes transform by giving off alpha radiation and turning into radionuclides of other elements. The half-life of a radioactive material is the time it takes for half of the material to give off its radiation. The half-life of ²⁴¹Am is 432 years and that of ²⁴³Am is 7,370years.