Technetium (Te) means “artificial” and that’s because we humans have to make it. And we do. The stuff is extracted from the spent fuel rods used in nuclear power plants. As you can imagine it is a significant component of nuclear waste and its long half-life, high fission yield, and environmental mobility make it of particular concern.

Technetium is natural in the sense that it can exist in nature. It is a daughter product of uranium decay. But it is exceedingly rare as its half-life of 4+ million years is dwarfed by the earth’s 4+ BILLION year age. Any technetium in the early earth environment would have decayed and transmuted by now. All technetium isotopes are radioactive.

Te-99 is of great importance in medicine. It is used in numerous imaging procedures and diagnostic tests. World production is probably less than 100 tonnes. (A little bit goes a long way in nuclear medicine.) One of the nastier by-products of the nuclear industry turns out to be one of the most helpful to humankind. That certainly illustrates the “double-edged sword” nature of technology!