radioisotopes in an identified industry.........(due in 1st week back!) (1 Viewer)

[tootoobear]

this is one of my question in my research assessment

- choose an industry that uses radioisotopes ( i was thinking about the paper industry- measuring thickness)
-decribe what they use them for ( i thoguht this industry only uses one radioisotope)
-special precautions and dangers associated using these radioisotopes
-discuss the same thing that makes them useful makes them dangerous

i partially answer all of the questions above but not fully, i just wanted to ask for all of your good answers to these.

 

[Jono_2007]

this is one of my question in my research assessment

- choose an industry that uses radioisotopes ( i was thinking about the paper industry- measuring thickness)

I found one thats much more interesting...Industrial Gamma Radiography
Gamma rays are produced by a small pellet of radioactive material, eg are: cobalt-60 or iridium-192, in a sealed titanium capsual. The capsual is then placed on one side of the object being radiographed and the photographic film is placed on the other. Like X-rays, gamma rays show flaws in metal castings or welded joints. Because of ease to transport and since no power is needed to operate the scan, gamma radiography has great potential in remote areas, eg to check weilds in natural gas or petrolium pipelines.

-decribe what they use them for ( i thoguht this industry only uses one radioisotope)

The paper industry uses X-rays, which aren't a form of radioactivity/nuclear radiation. The Industrial Gamma Radiography uses cobalt-60 and/or iridium-192!

-special precautions and dangers associated using these radioisotopes

Cobalt-60 has a half life of 5.25The major disadvantage of radioisotopes is that production of them creates radioactive waste and also the constant threat of a radioactive leak into the environment years and will release gamma rays and thus is dangerous to living tissue. you may have to research this one because i dant know alot about Cobalt-60

-discuss the same thing that makes them useful makes them dangerous

This would probably be the type of radiation the isotope iradates. i.e/ gamma rays, you may have to research this one because i dant know alot about gamma rays either .

Thats all i know from memory, i'll keep trying to update my post if i find any more information!
...Jono...

 

[pLuvia]

- choose an industry that uses radioisotopes ( i was thinking about the paper industry- measuring thickness)

Medicine - for cancer treatment

-decribe what they use them for ( i thoguht this industry only uses one radioisotope)

Cobalt-60 after being produced from cobalt-59 by neutron bombardment, radioactively disintegrates by beta emission to form nickel-60, with along with gamma rays it carries a suitable amount of energy that can destroy biological molecules

-special precautions and dangers associated using these radioisotopes

Cobalt-60 has a half life of about 4 - 6years, which also releases gamma and beta radiation.

-discuss the same thing that makes them useful makes them dangerous

Cobalt-60 with its reasonably long half life of 4-6 years reduces the maintenance of the equipment that uses it, also 4-6 years is a suitable amount of time for it to release a reasonable intensity of radiation . Also emitting gamma and beta radiation it can penetrate quite deeply into the body tissue.

You'll have to research the dangers of it

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If you check your textbook it should give you examples of the uses of certain commercial radioisotopes

Hope this helped

 

[Dreamerish*~]

I also suggest you choose a medical radioisotope - there's just a lot more to say, IMO. The question said "choose an industry" which confused me for a second, but medicine is an industry.

Some medical radioisotopes (since it was given in the plural form, you could write about all of them) are technetium-99m for diagnosis, cobalt-60 for cancer treatment, and iodine-131 for diagnosis of thyroid diseases. You should find sufficient information in textbooks and the net.

Dangers associated with radioisotopes are very general - that is, exposure to any amount of radiation is harmful, for not only humans but all living organisms. Radioactive waste is also a major environmental issue.

There's a difference between dangers and disadvantages though. For example, a disadvantage of technetium-99m would be its short half life which means it must be produced at the hospital in which it will be used. This makes it inconvenient, but not necessarily dangerous.