Physics Folio: Chapter 5: Radioactivity
Physics Folio: Chapter 5: Radioactivity
Physics Folio: Chapter 5: Radioactivity
Chapter 5: Radioactivity
Name: Nur Iman Syafiqah Abdul Nasir Class: 501 Matrix number: 12348 Teacher: En. Sharuzaman
1. How to produce radioisotopes? Most of the radioisotopes found in nature have relatively long half-lives. They also belong to elements which are not handled well by the human body. As a result medical applications generally require the use of radioisotopes which are produced artificially. There are a few
methods in producing radioisotopes such as nuclear fission, nuclear bombardment and also by using radioisotope generator. a) Nuclear fission Nuclear fission is nuclear reaction that splits the nucleus of an atom into smaller, subatomic particles. It often produces free neutrons and photons. Fission of heavy elements can release large amounts of energy as electromagnetic and kinetic energy. For fission to produce energy, the total binding energy of the resulting element has to be lower than that of the original element. Fission is a form of transmutation because the resulting fragments are not the same element used. Nuclear fission can occur without neutron bombardment (radioactive decay). This type of fission only occurs in a few heavy isotopes. In nuclear devices, all nuclear fission occurs from a neutron bombardment process that results from the collision of two subatomic particles. In nuclear reactions, a subatomic particle collides with an atomic nucleus and causes changes to it, so nuclear reactions are thus driven by the mechanics of bombardment. The isotopes that can sustain a fission chain reaction are called nuclear fuels and are said to be fissle. The most common nuclear fuels are 235uranium and 230plutonium. These fuels break apart into a bimodal range of chemical elements with atomic masses centring near 95 and 135. Typical fission events release about two hundred million eV(electron volts) of energy for each fission event. Most chemical fuels only release a few eV. The energy of nuclear fission is released as kinetic energy, fragments, gamma rays, along with a huge amount of heat. Neutron bombs release a larger fraction of their energy as ionizing radiation, but these are all thermonuclear devices which rely on the fusion stage to produce the extra radiation.
b) Nuclear bombardment. In this method of radioisotope production charged particles are accelerated up to very high energies and caused to collide into a target material. Examples of such charged particles are
protons, alpha particles and deuterons. New nuclei can be formed when these particles collide with nuclei in the target material. Some of these nuclei are of value to nuclear medicine. An example of this method is the production of 22Na where a target of 24Mg is bombarded with deuterons, that is: 24Mg + 2H 22Na + 4He. The atomic bombing in Hiroshima is one of the examples of nuclear bombardment. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial is a remnant of the city at ground zero where the nuclear bombardment had occurred.
c) Radioisotope generator This method is widely used to produce certain short-lived radioisotopes in a hospital or clinic. It involves obtaining a relatively long-lived radioisotope which decays into the short-lived isotope of interest. A good example is 99mTc which as we have noted before is the most widely used radioisotope in nuclear medicine today. This isotope has a half-life of six hours which is rather short if we wish to have it delivered directly from a nuclear facility. Instead the nuclear facility supplies the isotope 99Mo which decays into 99mTc with a half life of about 2.75 days. The 99Mo is called the parent isotope and 99mTc is called the daughter isotope. So the nuclear facility produces the parent isotope which decays relatively slowly into the daughter isotope and the daughter is separated chemically from the parent at the hospital/clinic. The chemical separation device is called, in this example, a 99mTc Generator: It consists of a ceramic column with 99Mo adsorbed onto its top surface. A solution called an eluent is passed through the column, reacts chemically with any 99mTc and emerges in a chemical form which is suitable for combining with a pharmaceutical to produce a
radiopharmaceutical. The arrangement shown in the figure on the right is called a Positive Pressure system where the eluent is forced through the ceramic column by a pressure, slightly above atmospheric pressure, in the eluent vial. The ceramic column and collection vials need to be surrounded by lead shielding for radiation protection purposes. In addition all components are produced and need to be maintained in a sterile condition since the collected solution will be administered to patients. Finally an Isotope Calibrator is needed when a 99mTc Generator is used to determine the radioactivity for preparation of patient doses and to check whether any 99Mo is present in the collected solution.
2. How to use radioisotopes as tracer in agriculture and medical industry? In agriculture, radioisotope labelled metal ions can be used to examine the availability of different fertilizer components for use by the crops. Similarly mercury or some other
undesirable substances can be applied. If the crops take up the label then it shows a potential problem.
Radioactive products that are used in medicine are referred to as radiopharmaceuticals. Nuclear medicine is a branch of medicine that uses radiation to provide information about the functioning of a person's specific organs or to treat disease. In most cases, the information is used by physicians to make a quick, accurate diagnosis of the patient's illness. The thyroid, bones, heart, liver and many other organs can be easily imaged, and disorders in their function revealed. In some cases, radiation can be used to treat diseased organs, or tumors. Five Nobel Laureates have been intimately involved with the use of radioactive tracers in medicine. Diagnostic techniques in nuclear medicine use radioactive tracers that emit gamma rays from within the body. These tracers are generally short-lived isotopes linked to chemical compounds that permit specific physiological processes to be scrutinized. They can be given by injection, inhalation or orally. The first type are where single photons are detected by a gamma camera that can view organs from many different angles. The camera builds up an image from the points from which radiation is emitted; this image is enhanced by a computer and viewed by a physician on a monitor for indications of abnormal conditions. For some medical conditions, it is useful to destroy or weaken malfunctioning cells using radiation. The radioisotope that generates the radiation can be localized in the required organ in the same way it is used for diagnosisthrough a radioactive element following its usual
biological path, or through the element being attached to a suitable biological compound. In most cases, it is beta radiation that causes the destruction of the damaged cells; this is radiotherapy. Short-range radiotherapy is known as brachytherapy, and this is becoming the main means of treatment. Although radiotherapy is less common than diagnostic use of radioactive material in medicine, it is nevertheless widespread, important and growing. An ideal therapeutic radioisotope is a strong beta emitter with just enough gamma to enable imaging, e.g., lutetium-177. This is prepared from ytterbium-176 that is irradiated to become Yb-177, which decays rapidly to Lu-177. Yttrium-90 is used for treatment of cancer, particularly nonHodgkin's lymphoma, and its more widespread use is envisaged, including for arthritis treatment.
All parts of the nuclear fuel cycle produce some radioactive waste (radwaste) and the relatively modest cost of managing and disposing of this is part of the electricity cost, i.e. it is internalised and paid for by the electricity consumers. At each stage of the fuel cycle there are proven technologies to dispose of the radioactive wastes safely. For low- and intermediate-level wastes these are mostly being implemented. For high-level wastes some countries await the accumulation of enough of it to warrant building geological repositories; others, such as the USA, have encountered political delays. Unlike other industrial wastes, the level of hazard of all nuclear waste - its radioactivity diminishes with time. Each radionuclidea contained in the waste has a half-life the time taken for half of its atoms to decay and thus for it to lose half of its radioactivity. Radionuclides with long half-lives tend to be alpha and beta emitters making their handling easier while those with short half-lives tend to emit the more penetrating gamma rays. Eventually all radioactive wastes decay into non-radioactive elements. The more radioactive an isotope is, the faster it decays. The main objective in managing and disposing of radioactive (or other) waste is to protect people and the environment. This means isolating or diluting the waste so that the rate or concentration of any radionuclides returned to the biosphere is harmless. To achieve this, practically all wastes are contained and managed some clearly need deep and permanent burial. From nuclear power generation, none is allowed to cause harmful pollution. All toxic wastes need to be dealt with safely, not just radioactive wastes. In countries with nuclear power, radioactive wastes comprise less than 1% of total industrial toxic wastes (the balance of which remains hazardous indefinitely). Types of radioactive wastes Exempt waste & very low level waste Exempt waste and very low level waste (VLLW) contains radioactive materials at a level which is not considered harmful to people or the surrounding environment. It consists mainly of demolished material (such as concrete, plaster, bricks, metal, valves, piping etc) produced during rehabilitation or dismantling operations on nuclear industrial sites. Other industries, such as food processing, chemical, steel etc also produce VLLW as a result of the concentration of natural radioactivity present in certain minerals used in their manufacturing processes. The waste is therefore disposed of with domestic refuse, although countries such as France are currently developing facilities to store VLLW in specifically designed VLLW disposal facilities. Low-level waste Low-level waste (LLW) is generated from hospitals and industry, as well as the nuclear fuel cycle. It comprises paper, rags, tools, clothing, filters etc, which contain small amounts of mostly short-lived radioactivity. It does not require shielding during handling and transport and is suitable for shallow land burial. To reduce its volume, it is often compacted or
incinerated before disposal. It comprises some 90% of the volume but only 1% of the radioactivity of all radioactive waste. Intermediate-level waste Intermediate-level waste (ILW) contains higher amounts of radioactivity and some requires shielding. It typically comprises resins, chemical sludges and metal fuel cladding, as well as contaminated materials from reactor decommissioning. Smaller items and any non-solids may be solidified in concrete or bitumen for disposal. It makes up some 7% of the volume and has 4% of the radioactivity of all radwaste. High-level waste High-level waste (HLW) arises from the 'burning' of uranium fuel in a nuclear reactor. HLW contains the fission products and transuranic elements generated in the reactor core. It is highly radioactive and hot, so requires cooling and shielding. It can be considered as the 'ash' from 'burning' uranium. HLW accounts for over 95% of the total radioactivity produced in the process of electricity generation. There are two distinct kinds of HLW:
Used fuel itself. Separated waste from reprocessing the used fuel
HLW has both long-lived and short-lived components, depending on the length of time it will take for the radioactivity of particular radionuclides to decrease to levels that are considered no longer hazardous for people and the surrounding environment. If generally short-lived fission products can be separated from long-lived actinides, this distinction becomes important in management and disposal of HLW.