Potholes in ENSDF Decay Data and Opportunities to Repair Them

The Evaluated Nuclear Structure Data File (ENSDF) is a worldwide resource for nuclear structure and decay data for all known nuclides. An international network of evaluators contributes to the database evaluations and the file is maintained by the National Nuclear DataCenter at Brookhaven National Laboratory. ENSDF, and in particular its decay data, is highly used in many applied fields including nuclear medicine, nuclear power, forensics, nondestructive assay and nonproliferation. While the ENSDF decay data is comprehensive, the quality of the measurements upon which the evaluated data is based varies significantly. In the present work, we will first present the various options for retrieving data from ENSDF. We then discuss the potential gaps and deficiencies in the current ENSDF decay data. Perspectives for the future of decay data in ENSDF will also be presented.