The flags of Iran flutter in the south of the capital Tehran on July 4, 2022. (PHOTO / AFP)

TEHRAN - Iran on Sunday unveiled homegrown caesium-137 as a new achievement of its nuclear industry, the official news agency IRNA reported.

The material has multiple medical and industrial applications, including usage in radiation devices, brachytherapy, radiotherapy, calibration springs, and various types of industrial gauges

Speaking at a ceremony to unveil the radionuclide, President of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami said his organization has managed to produce the radionuclide in six months.

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The IRNA report said the radionuclide was generated as a result of a research project at Iran's Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute to develop the technical know-how to isolate and purify cesium-137 from radioactive nuclear fission products.

Caesium-137 is a radionuclide which has a half-life of 30 years and does not exist naturally and is mainly found in used nuclear fuel and radioactive waste.

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The material has multiple medical and industrial applications, including usage in radiation devices, brachytherapy, radiotherapy, calibration springs, and various types of industrial gauges.