Radioactivity medical applications

Radioactive Decay Nuclear Transformations Detection of Radioactivity and the Concept of Half-life Dating by Radioactivity Medical Applications of Radioactivity Nuclear Energy Nuclear Fission Nuclear Reactors Nuclear Fusion... 

C02-0008. The following radioactive isotopes have medical applications. Determine the number of... 

Aside from accidents in nuclear facilities (e.g., Chernobyl), the main source of anthropogenic radioactive pollution is probably derived from medical applications. Documented reports of radioactive residue mismanagement indicate that sometimes these substances end up in garbage dumps, with the consequent danger of public exposure. The main radioactive isotopes in medical applications are listed in Table 8.7. 

TABLE 21.5 Some Radioactive Nuclides, with Half-Lives and Medical Applications as Radiotracers... 

It is the purpose of this book to present the facts about the presence of radionuclides in nature. The use of technology can significantly modify the exposure to natural radiation. Among the human activities which should be considered in this context are (i) the electricity generation by coal-fired power plants, (ii) the use of phosphate fertilizers, and (iii) many consumer products. Man-made radioactivity has found many useful applications in everyday life. The best known are medical applications. The use of radionuclides and radioactivity in diagnosis and treatment of diseases is well established practice. 

There are assessments predicting the use of reverse osmosis for the processing of the wastes from medical application [36,37] and for the removal of caesium-137 from decontamination wastes after accident in the steel production factory [38]. RO is considered as a method for removal of radioactive pollutants from contaminated water (removal of Cs and °Sr) in the vicinity of atomic power plants [39], as well as for removal of small quantities of radionuclides ( Rn, Ra) from... 

There are other medical applications for radioactive strontium isotopes. Strontium-90 is used to treat a variety of eye disorders. And strontium-85 and strontium-87m are used to study the condition of bones in a person s body. 

Some actinides have medical applications for example, radioactive cali-fornium-252 (Cf) is used in cancer therapy. Better results in killing cancer cells have been achieved using this isotope of californium than by using the more traditional X-ray radiation. 

The radioactive isotope 89Sr (also known by the pharmaceutical brand name Metastron ) is used as a cancer therapeutic to alleviate bone pain. 85Sr has been used in medical applications, such as radiologic imagining of bones, in minor commercial applications, such as thermoelectric power generation, as a beta-particle standard source, and in instruments that measure thickness and density of materials (Murray 1994). 

Although the uptake of by the thyroid gland was a health risk after the Chernobyl disaster (Box 2.2), controlled uptake has medical applications. If a patient ingests l (e.g. as a solution of l-labelled Nal), the isotope is quickly absorbed by the th5Toid gland and the size and state of the gland can be detected by monitoring the radioactivity emitted. For l, ri 8 days, and the dose administered soon decays. 

The radioactive isotopes of cesium are much more important in technical terms, especially the long-living jCs, which can be obtained relatively simply and cheaply from radioactive waste produced by uranium-based nuclear reactors. jCs is used as a y-irradiation source for technical (metallurgical) and medical applications. 

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