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  products in nuclear transmutation reactions   A transmutation is the changing of one isotope into another. Radioactive decay, as well as bombarding nuclei with high energy particles, can cause transmutation.

The idea of transmutation originates from the ancient alchemtists goal of changing base metals into gold

Today, scientists are looking for ways to take radioactive waste and change it into nonradioactive elements using transmutation      



<span style="color: rgb(255, 76, 0)"> An example of two radioactive isotopes that can be transmuted into less hazardous forms are technetium-99 and iodine-129. Both of these isotopes are very long-lived and require disposal strategies that will isolate them from the environment for long periods of time. Both iodine and technetium are considered difficult to isolate because they dissolve readily in groundwater and move easily throughout the ecosystem. Irradiation of the long-lived technetium-99 isotope by neutrons will cause it to absorb a neutron and become technetium-100, which undergoes complete radioactive decay into stable ruthenium within minutes. Similarly, the iodine-129 isotope can be transformed by neutron absorption into stable xenon isotopes. (FROM www.cartage.org)

this page is pretty much awesome for transmutation info: http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/Sciences/Chemistry/NuclearChemistry/NuclearReactions/Transmutation/PartitioningTransmutation/Partitioningtransmutation.htm