Three atoms of element 116 were produced and detected in June 1999 by a team working at The Lawrence Berkely Laboratory in America as a by-product in the alpha decay of element 118 which they had just made.

By crashing a beam of krypton-86 atoms into a target of lead-208 atoms several excited compound nuclei were produced. These almost immediately emit a neutron becoming atoms of element 118 with 118 protons and 175 neutrons, being atoms of the isotope 118-293. Less than a millisecond later the isotope 119-293 decays by alpha decay into an atom of element 116, the isotope 116-289.

This isotope also decayed by alpha decay into element 114, the isotope 114-285.

Along with oxygen, sulphur, selenium and tellurium, element 116 belongs to group 16. new: ₁₁₆UUH²⁹² resulting from the reaction of ₉₆Cm²⁴⁸Cm with ₂₀Ca⁴⁸:

₉₆Cm²⁴⁸  +  ₂₀Ca⁴⁸   →   ₁₁₆Uuh²⁹²  +  4₀n¹

This isotope of Element 116, ₁₁₆Uuh²⁹², decayed in 47 milliseconds to a previously identified isotope of Element 114, ₁₁₄Uuq²⁸⁸:

₁₁₆Uuh²⁹²   →   ₁₁₄Uuq²⁸⁸  +  ₂He⁴