Go to disadvantages for radioisotopes in industry and medicine? (1 Viewer)

[science]

So benefits for radio isotopes are pretty easy- Sr 90 in industry is good because higher quality materials, doesnt have to be replaced often, can be automated etc. and Tc 99m in medicine is good because better diagnoses therefore better public health, allows for greater research etc. But disadvantages I always am limited to "radioisotopes are bad because they can be dangerous because radiation poisoning etc.". What else do you guys talk about

 

[faisalabdul16]

So benefits for radio isotopes are pretty easy- Sr 90 in industry is good because higher quality materials, doesnt have to be replaced often, can be automated etc. and Tc 99m in medicine is good because better diagnoses therefore better public health, allows for greater research etc. But disadvantages I always am limited to "radioisotopes are bad because they can be dangerous because radiation poisoning etc.". What else do you guys talk about

Well the primary disadvantage is that exposure to radiation has the potential to cause mutations and alter DNA sequences in the human body, possibly resulting in faulty protein production and a disruption to homeostasis.

haha biology knowledge helps a lot with this!

You just talk about how radiation can kill cells (we only wanted the death of cancerous cells). Talk about how it is bad

 

[science]

yeah like I said i just feel like thats all i say, and thats really only one disadvantage. Do you talk about anything else?

 

[emilios]

some commercial isotopes are produced in nuclear reactors. dealing with the waste from nuclear reactors is a big issue and it takes thousands of years to decompose.

machinery used to shield workers from radiation and to store waste are often expensive and require regular maintenance.

 

[enigma_1]

Faisal brahh, english please

OP I agree with you that there's not many disadvantages. There are some which are releveant to specific radioisotopes such as cobalt-60 which is used to proling shelf lyf of food and is a potent gamma emitter which could potentially destroy some of the vitamin content in the food and can cause the formation of harmful compounds.

Also, for medicine with Tc-99m it has a short half lyf of 6 hours and so this requires the cyclotron (where it's produced) should either be at the hospital (and that's costly ) or the source of the radioisotope should be near the hospital.

 

[science]

Ah costly thats a good one. Damn I don't use Cobalt 60 but thanks anyway. Thanks for that one about Tc-99m

Cheers
Science

 

[Cleverusername5321]

I would try to relate the type of radiation they emit to the advantages. For example, if something was emitting beta radiation (electrons) I would say that the penetration is only strong enough to do its thing near the site where its placed, as opposed if it were alpha or gamma radiation it would penetrate the entire body.

 

[faisalabdul16]

Faisal brahh, english please

OP I agree with you that there's not many disadvantages. There are some which are releveant to specific radioisotopes such as cobalt-60 which is used to proling shelf lyf of food and is a potent gamma emitter which could potentially destroy some of the vitamin content in the food and can cause the formation of harmful compounds.

Also, for medicine with Tc-99m it has a short half lyf of 6 hours and so this requires the cyclotron (where it's produced) should either be at the hospital (and that's costly ) or the source of the radioisotope should be near the hospital.

HAHAHA biology knowledge