8.01 Half-Life and Radioactive Decay Honors
By: Amanda Sirianni
Naturally Occurring Radiation
Uranium:
1: Where is this substance most likely found, and how abundant is it?
Uranium can be found in a lot of places in small quantities such as rocks, soil, and water. However, its harder to find uranium in amounts that are worth the trouble.
2: What type of decay does this substance undergo, and how harmful can it be to those exposed?
Naturally forming uranium undergoes radioactive decay by emission of an alpha particle and gamma radiation. As the decay continues, it releases radiation.This is an extreme health issue that, in large amounts, can cause cancer and liver damage.
3: What can be done to protect against the radiation produced by this isotope?
To avoid harmful uranium, people
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Is it used in the medical, industrial, scientific, or other fields?
Uranium can be used to produce nuclear energy, it's renewable, and it means less pollution which in turn helps the environment.
Radiation Used by Humans and Technology
The use of iodine-131 in the medical field
1:What careers or fields use this type of radiation, and why is it used?
Doctors use Iodine-131. Iodine-131 can be used to treat someone with hyperthyroidism. It can also be used to treat thyroid cancer. It can also be used as a type of medical imaging.
2:What are the benefits and risks associated with using this material, and how common is its use?
This material is used quite frequently as it can heal sick people. There are a few risks, but it's mostly little things. A sore throat feeling can be a side effect.
However, there can be some more serious ramifications such as a loss of the thyroid gland all together.
3&4: What waste materials, if any, are produced by the use of this substance, and how is the waste handled and disposed of? What other important information should we be aware of regarding this particular material and its
In the past, it absolutely was common due to this materials to be found in building applications, including in most properties. Shifting these types of resources enables minuscule particles in order to enter air. It is possible to take in air these in and never comprehend the idea. They will put dormant in the deep tissue on the lungs for many years. Sooner or later, that they bring about your growth regarding cancer and other complications. Will possibly not observe your current decrease in breathing in function prior to the situation features worsened a lot so that you usually are going through end-stage most cancers
Although this type of material is very useful there are special warnings and precautions that need to be in placed to make sure the material is used with proper care. This material is not for intrathecal use and should be administered by a professional with proper
It also emits neutrons, beta particles and gamma rays. It is considered toxic, in part, because if it were to be inhaled it could deposit in the lungs and eventually cause damage. There are five "common" isotopes of plutonium, PU-238, PU-239, PU-240, PU-241, and PU-242. These are all "fissionable" – the atom's nucleus can easily split apart if it is struck by a neutron. PU-239 has a half-life of 24,100 years and PU-241’s half-life is 14.4 years. Substances with shorter half-lives decay more quickly than those with longer half-lives, so they emit more energetic radioactivity. Like any radioactive isotopes, plutonium isotopes transform when they decay. They might become different plutonium isotopes or different elements, such as uranium or neptunium. Many of these "daughter products" are themselves radioactive. (“Backgrounder on Plutonium”).
Uranium-235 is a radioisotope of Uranium that is 90% more enrich that normal Uranium and has a half life of around 703 million years with
Radium is naturally found in ores of uranium such as pitchblende. Radium is extracted from the waste of uranium processing. Ores containing radium are found in Canada, Australia, Zaire, and USA (Utah, New Mexico, and in the carnotite sands from Colorado). It is estimated that every square kilometer of soil contains about 1 g of
Radiation can cause a great deal of damage to living cells and the DNA inside a nucleus, and if the DNA becomes greatly damaged, that is when it becomes cancerous. Exposure to high amounts of radiation can significantly increase the risk of developing cancer. Alpha, beta and gamma radiation are the 3 different forms of radiation, and all are dangerous to humans and the environment. Although Alpha radiation cannot penetrate the skin, if a particle emitting alpha radiation is inhaled or eaten, it can do significant damage to the cells in internal organs. Beta and gamma radiation have strong enough wavelengths to penetrate the skin and damage cells inside the
So what are these harmful effects? To answer this question, we need to understand how radioactive isotopes decay. There are many different elements, and each has its own radioactive isotopes. For example, one of the common plutonium isotopes produced by man is plutonium-239. When this radioactive isotope decays, it produces energy. This energy is radioactivity. When the isotope decays, it produces alpha, beta, and gamma particles. These particles are also a part of a general class of
Uranium is hard, malleable and ductile. Uranium metal has a very high density. It is very reactive so cannot be found in the environment in its elemental form. When finely divided, it can react with cold water. In air it is coated by uranium oxide, tarnishing rapidly. It is attacked by steam and acids. It has the ability to form solid solutions and inter- metallic compounds with many metals. While Uranium is not hazardous by itself, some of its by-products and decay products pose a huge threat upon build-up.
Though a segment of the uranium the United States uses is mined in this country, most is outside. The U.S. gets uranium from Australia, Canada, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan. At the point when uranium is mined, it must be removed from distinctive minerals. It ought to moreover be arranged before it can be used.
Uranium should be produced in a safe, healthy and environmentally responsible way because this is important for consumers, producers and society as a whole. The production of uranium through hydrometallurgical processes such as leaching, ion exchange, solid-liquid separation and solvent extraction has not been without controversy, especially during the early stages of the industry. Nowadays, the industry has changed drastically and a lot more can be done to ensure that safety is a number one priority.
Even being a natural material, there are some environmental concerns about the adhesive used in its construction process (regarding toxicity).
I believe that uranium is a very dangerous thing. It can be used to help many people and keep them alive, but it also has to power to kill a lot of people. Exposure to too much radiation can cause acute radiation syndrome. That thought genuinely frightens me. One little malfunction in a plant somewhere and a whole lot of people will die. And for what? A bit of energy?
Have you seen or heard the news lately? Radioactive waste water contamination… Contracts for the disposal of radioactive waste… Nuclear sites and dumps leaking… Cancer and Death by Radiation… What is all this? More importantly what is radioactive waste?
Uranium is one of the most dangerous heavy metals in the environment because of its chemical toxicity and radioactivity. Excessive
The most prominent nuclear reactors used for electricity generation operate on the uranium fuel cycle. The fuel used in nuclear reactors is composed two primary isotopes: uranium-235 (235U) and uranium-238 (238U). 235U is a fissile isotope of uranium, while 238U is a fertile isotope. Once 238U is hit by a neutron, it will go through radioactive decay and become 239Pu (plutonium- 239), which is fissile. Only 0.7% of naturally occurring uranium is 235U where the vast majority is 238U. Thus, most nuclear reactors use a design where 3-4% of the