Element 85 · Halogen
Astatine
The rarest naturally occurring element — astatine has no commercial use and exists only in research samples.
Element Facts
SYMBOL
At
ATOMIC NO.
85
ATOMIC WEIGHT
210
CATEGORY
Halogen
PERIOD
Period 6
GROUP
Group 17
Background
Astatine was predicted to exist before it was made. The first confirmed synthesis was in 1940 at the University of California, Berkeley, by Dale Corson, Kenneth MacKenzie, and Emilio Segrè, who bombarded bismuth-209 with alpha particles. Named from the Greek for “unstable”. Astatine does occur naturally — as a product of the uranium and thorium decay chains — but the total amount in the entire Earth’s crust is estimated at less than 30 grams at any one time.
Industrial Uses
Astatine-211 is being actively researched for targeted alpha-particle radiotherapy for cancer — it has highly promising properties for killing tumour cells while minimising damage to surrounding tissue. This represents the only practical application under development. Facilities in Denmark, Norway, and several US institutions are pioneering astatine-211 cancer treatments.
Scrap Viability
Why QuickStop Metals doesn’t buy Astatine:
Astatine is extremely radioactive (the most stable natural isotope, astatine-210, has a half-life of 8.1 hours) and exists naturally in quantities far too small to detect or collect. It is produced only at cyclotron facilities in microgram quantities for medical research. There is no conceivable scrap trade.
What It's Worth
No commercial market exists for astatine. Astatine-211 is produced in tiny quantities at cyclotron facilities at research costs effectively incalculable on a per-gram basis. It is a research material, not a commodity.