United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Protecting People and the Environment
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Effective half-life

The time required for the activity of a particular radioisotope deposited in a living organism, such as a human or an animal, to be reduced by 50 percent as a result of the combined action of radioactive decay and biological elimination. Effective half-life is related to, but different from, the radiological half-life and the biological half-life.

Page Last Reviewed/Updated Monday, December 10, 2012