What the gamma constant Γ is
The gamma-ray dose constant Γ relates the activity of a point source to the dose rate at a given distance: the larger Γ, the higher the dose from the same activity. In this table Γ is given in µSv·m²/(MBq·h) — the effective dose rate in microsieverts per hour at 1 metre from a 1 MBq point source. For another distance, divide by the distance squared in metres (inverse-square law).
Data source and quantity
Values are computed from ICRP-107 emission data (Peplow, 2020) and refer to effective dose (ICRP-116, AP geometry). This is a different quantity from the exposure-based gamma constant or air kerma — the numbers are similar in magnitude but not equal; for radiation-protection work confirm which quantity your regulation requires.
For positron emitters (Ga-68, Cu-64, Rb-82, Na-22 and others, marked β⁺) the table excludes the 511 keV annihilation photons: in a real source they deliver most of the dose, so the practical Γ is several times the tabulated value. For dose-rate estimates of such sources use the dose-rate calculator, whose constants include annihilation photons.
Daughters and equilibrium
Note: values are for the bare nuclide without daughter ingrowth. For example, Cs-137 itself emits almost no gamma (beta decay); the characteristic 662 keV comes from its daughter Ba-137m, so a real Cs-137 source in equilibrium uses about 0.078 µSv·m²/(MBq·h). For natural-series nuclides (Ra-226, Th-232, U-238) the actual source dose is higher than the tabulated value because of daughters. Always verify against the source certificate and regulations before any safety decision.
Related calculators
To compute dose rate, activity from dose, or to size shielding, use the dose-rate calculator and the gamma shielding calculator in this service.