Hazards and Blessings Associated with Radioactivity
One of the scientists working on the Manhattan Project of the U.S. was Italian physicist Enrico Fermi (1901-1954), who used radium and beryllium powder to construct a neutron source for making new radioactive materials. Fermi and his associates succeeded in producing radioisotopes of sodium, iron, copper, gold, and numerous other elements. As a result of Fermi's work, for which he won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics, scientists have been able to develop radioactive versions of virtually all elements. Interestingly, the ideas of radioactivity, fission reactions, and fusion reactions collectively represent the realization of a goal sought by the medieval alchemists: the transformation of one element into another, particularly the baser metals into noble ones.
The alchemists, forerunners of chemists, believed they could transform ordinary metals into gold by using various potions, though an impossible dream. Yet among the radioisotopes generated by Fermi's neutron source was gold. The "catch," of course, is that this gold was unstable; furthermore, the amount of energy and human mental effort required to generate it far outweighed the monetary value of the gold itself. Radioactivity is, in the modern imagination, typically associated with fallout from nuclear war, or with hazards resulting from nuclear power hazards that, as it turns out, have been greatly exaggerated as radioactivity is not always harmful to humans. For instance, with its applications in medicine, as a means of diagnosing and treating thyroid problems, or as a treatment for cancer patients, it can actually save lives.
It is a good thing that not only radiation but also even the harmful variety of radiation, known as ionizing radiation, is not fatal in small doses that is evident from the fact that every person on Earth is exposed to small quantities of radiation every now and then. About 82% of this comes from natural sources and only 18% from manmade sources. Of course, some people are at much greater risk of radiation exposure than others, for example, coal miners are exposed to higher levels of the radon-222 isotope present underground, while cigarette smokers ingest much higher levels of radiation than ordinary people, due to the polonium-210, lead-210, and radon-222 isotopes present in the nitrogen fertilizers used to grow tobacco.
Nuclear weapons, as most people know, produce a great deal of radioactive pollution but atmospheric testing of nuclear armaments has long been banned, and though the isotopes released in such tests are expected to remain in the atmosphere for about a century, they do not constitute a significant health hazard to most Americans. (It should be noted that nations not inclined to abide by international protocols might still conduct atmospheric tests in defiance of the test bans.) Nuclear power plants, despite the great deal of attention they have received from the media and environmentalist groups, do not pose the hazard that has often been claimed: in fact, coal-and oil-burning power plants are responsible for far more radioactive pollution in the United States.
This is not to say that nuclear energy poses no dangers, as the disaster at Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union has shown. In April 1986, an accident at a nuclear reactor in what is now the Ukraine killed 31 workers immediately and ultimately led to the deaths of some 10,000 people subsequently and consequently. The fact that the radiation was allowed to spread had much to do with the secretive tactics of the Communist government, which attempted to cover up the problem rather than evacuate the area. Another danger associated with nuclear power plants is radioactive waste. Spent fuel rods and other waste products from these plants have to be dumped somewhere, but it cannot simply be buried in the ground because it will create a continuing health hazard through the water supply. No fully fail-safe storage system has been developed, and the problem of radioactive waste poses a continuing threat due to the extremely long half-lives of some of the isotopes involved.
In addition to their uses in applications related to nuclear energy, isotopes play a significant role in dating techniques. The latter may sound like a subject that has something to do with romance, but it does not: dating techniques involve the use of materials, including isotopes, to estimate the age of both organic and inorganic materials. Uranium-238, for instance, has a half-life of 4.47 · 109 years, which is nearly the age of Earth; in fact, uranium-dating techniques have been used to determine the planet's age, which is estimated at about 4.7 billion years. Potassium-argon dating, which involves the isotopes potassium-40 and argon-40, has been used to date volcanic layers in east Africa. Because the half-life of potassium-40 is 1.3 billion years, this method is useful for dating activities that are distant in the human scale of time, but fairly recent in geological terms.
Another dating technique is radiocarbon dating, used for estimating the age of things that were once alive. All living things contain carbon, both in the form of the stable isotope carbon-12 and the radioisotope carbon-14. While a plant or animal is living, there is a certain proportion between the amounts of these two isotopes in the organism's body, with carbon-12 being far more abundant. When the organism dies, however, it ceases to acquire new carbon, and the carbon-14 present in the body begins to decay into nitrogen-14. The amount of nitrogen-14 that has been formed is thus an indication of the amount of time that has passed since the organism was alive. Because it has a half-life of 5,730 years, carbon-14 is useful for dating activities within the span of human history, though it is not without controversy. Some scientists contend, for instance, that samples may be contaminated by carbon from the surrounding soils, thus affecting ratios and leading to inaccurate dates.
The alchemists, forerunners of chemists, believed they could transform ordinary metals into gold by using various potions, though an impossible dream. Yet among the radioisotopes generated by Fermi's neutron source was gold. The "catch," of course, is that this gold was unstable; furthermore, the amount of energy and human mental effort required to generate it far outweighed the monetary value of the gold itself. Radioactivity is, in the modern imagination, typically associated with fallout from nuclear war, or with hazards resulting from nuclear power hazards that, as it turns out, have been greatly exaggerated as radioactivity is not always harmful to humans. For instance, with its applications in medicine, as a means of diagnosing and treating thyroid problems, or as a treatment for cancer patients, it can actually save lives.
It is a good thing that not only radiation but also even the harmful variety of radiation, known as ionizing radiation, is not fatal in small doses that is evident from the fact that every person on Earth is exposed to small quantities of radiation every now and then. About 82% of this comes from natural sources and only 18% from manmade sources. Of course, some people are at much greater risk of radiation exposure than others, for example, coal miners are exposed to higher levels of the radon-222 isotope present underground, while cigarette smokers ingest much higher levels of radiation than ordinary people, due to the polonium-210, lead-210, and radon-222 isotopes present in the nitrogen fertilizers used to grow tobacco.
Nuclear weapons, as most people know, produce a great deal of radioactive pollution but atmospheric testing of nuclear armaments has long been banned, and though the isotopes released in such tests are expected to remain in the atmosphere for about a century, they do not constitute a significant health hazard to most Americans. (It should be noted that nations not inclined to abide by international protocols might still conduct atmospheric tests in defiance of the test bans.) Nuclear power plants, despite the great deal of attention they have received from the media and environmentalist groups, do not pose the hazard that has often been claimed: in fact, coal-and oil-burning power plants are responsible for far more radioactive pollution in the United States.
This is not to say that nuclear energy poses no dangers, as the disaster at Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union has shown. In April 1986, an accident at a nuclear reactor in what is now the Ukraine killed 31 workers immediately and ultimately led to the deaths of some 10,000 people subsequently and consequently. The fact that the radiation was allowed to spread had much to do with the secretive tactics of the Communist government, which attempted to cover up the problem rather than evacuate the area. Another danger associated with nuclear power plants is radioactive waste. Spent fuel rods and other waste products from these plants have to be dumped somewhere, but it cannot simply be buried in the ground because it will create a continuing health hazard through the water supply. No fully fail-safe storage system has been developed, and the problem of radioactive waste poses a continuing threat due to the extremely long half-lives of some of the isotopes involved.
In addition to their uses in applications related to nuclear energy, isotopes play a significant role in dating techniques. The latter may sound like a subject that has something to do with romance, but it does not: dating techniques involve the use of materials, including isotopes, to estimate the age of both organic and inorganic materials. Uranium-238, for instance, has a half-life of 4.47 · 109 years, which is nearly the age of Earth; in fact, uranium-dating techniques have been used to determine the planet's age, which is estimated at about 4.7 billion years. Potassium-argon dating, which involves the isotopes potassium-40 and argon-40, has been used to date volcanic layers in east Africa. Because the half-life of potassium-40 is 1.3 billion years, this method is useful for dating activities that are distant in the human scale of time, but fairly recent in geological terms.
Another dating technique is radiocarbon dating, used for estimating the age of things that were once alive. All living things contain carbon, both in the form of the stable isotope carbon-12 and the radioisotope carbon-14. While a plant or animal is living, there is a certain proportion between the amounts of these two isotopes in the organism's body, with carbon-12 being far more abundant. When the organism dies, however, it ceases to acquire new carbon, and the carbon-14 present in the body begins to decay into nitrogen-14. The amount of nitrogen-14 that has been formed is thus an indication of the amount of time that has passed since the organism was alive. Because it has a half-life of 5,730 years, carbon-14 is useful for dating activities within the span of human history, though it is not without controversy. Some scientists contend, for instance, that samples may be contaminated by carbon from the surrounding soils, thus affecting ratios and leading to inaccurate dates.
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