Iodine-125 electrons from the radioisotope have been found in one study to do little cellular damage, unless the radionuclide is incorporated chemically directly into cellular DNA, which is not the case for present radiopharmaceuticals which use I-125 as the radioactive label nuclide. As with other radioisotopes of iodine, iodine-125 uptake in the body (mostly to the thyroid) can be blocked with prompt administration of stable iodine-127 in the form of an iodide or iodate salt. Potassium iodide (KI) is typically used for this purpose. Iodine-125 Iodine-125 (I) is a radioisotope of iodine which has uses in biological assays, nuclear medicine imaging
Isotopes of iodine for the so-called iodine pit phenomenon. In addition to commercial production, I (half-life 8 days) is one of the common radioactive fission-products of nuclear fission, and is thus produced inadvertently in very large amounts inside nuclear reactors. Due to its volatility, short half-life, and high abundance in fission products, I, (along with the short-lived iodine isotope I from the longer-lived Te with a half-life of 3 days) is responsible for the largest part of radioactive contamination during the first week after accidental environmental contamination from the radioactive waste from a nuclear power plant. Radioisotopes of iodine are called radioactive iodine