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Does reverse osmosis remove tritium?
While reverse osmosis removes most radionuclides like strontium 90 etc, it will NOT remove tritium.
How is a radionuclide formed?
Radionuclides (or sometimes, radioisotopes) are unstable atomic nuclei, and they spontaneously "fall apart" by various means because of their unstable nature. These unstable atoms can be found as isotopes of any element we care to name. All the elements have unstable "versions" of themselves, that is, they have one or more unstable isotopes, which are radionuclides. But where do they come from? Certainly we can make them in the nuclear physics lab, and we apply the nuclear reactor, the cyclotron, or other means to create whatever it is we wish to use for a specific purpose or to investigate and do research on. Nuclear medicine and radiation biophysics use a number of different radionuclides in radiation therapy, biological tracing and other applications. And physicists have different needs for radionuclides to investigate their different properties. Industry has needs for radionuclides, too. Just one example is the creation of 60cobalt for use as an X-ray source for X-ray analysis of materials, or for sterilization (by radiation) of goods or products. To supply the needs of these groups, the nuclear industry creates a smorgasbord of radionuclides by various means. Background radiation is higher today owing to nuclear bomb tests, reactor accidents and other releases of radioactive materials that were created by man. Nature, too, creates radionuclides. Unstable atomic nuclei are formed by stars. Stars operate as big fusion reactors with the huge force of their fusion trying to "blast" everything outward and their giant gravity trying to pull everything in all operating in an equilibrium. Stars are fusing smaller nuclei into larger ones all the time. But stars can't make nuclei heavier than iron during the course of "regular" stellar nucleosynthesis. The trans-iron elements are created in a supernova, when a star of sufficient magnitude has exhausted its nuclear fuel and then collapses to set off the spectular blast that we wonder at. All the naturally occurring trans-iron elements through uranium are created by this mighty crushing event, and they're distributed out into the galaxy by the following blast. Among the elements created are a variety of isotopes that are unstable. In fact, bismuth and all the elements heavier than it have no stable isotopes. The radioisotopes decay according to their nature (there are several mechanisms), and often we see a radioactive product (called a daughter) created by the decay process. We have seen radioactive isotopes formed by stars, and now we look at the fact that they often beget radioactive daughters when they break down. That's another way radionuclides are created. Radioactive decay continues until a stable isotope is created. The times that the decay event takes to occur vary as the isotope, and are called half-lives. No single unstable nucleus can be said to take a given amount of time to decay; there is no way to predict when a specific atom of a radionuclide will decay. So we talk about an "average" time it takes for the decay of a radionuclide to occur, and it's a function derived statistically. We look at a lot of atoms and figure out how long it takes for half of them to decay, and run with that time for a half-life. To repeat, the radioactive decay continues until a stable isotope appears as a daughter. Radioactive decay, in addition to creating a daughter (which may or may not be radioactive) produces ionizing radiation. If it hasn't been obvious, we live in a radioactive universe where there is radiation all over the place. And that's another source of radionuclides. When ionizing radiation like cosmic rays slams into the upper atmosphere of the earth, some nitrogen atoms there end up getting transformed into 14carbon atoms. You may recognize this isotope as the one that is used in radio-carbon dating. Other radiation, both aloft and on earth, can create other unstable isotopes of an element, and now we've discovered a third way that radionuclides can be naturally created. Wikipedia has a post on radionuclides, and a link to that post can be found below.
Are there nuclear power plants in Nebraska?
There are no licenced nuclear power plants in Utah. There is one research reactor at the University of Utah. Such a reactor is not licenced the way commercial reactors are, in part because they are supposedly incapable of melting down. They are used for a variety of purposes, including making radionuclides used in medicine.
A case study example of current use of nuclear power?
The Sun's fusion reactionFission plants generating electricityFission bombs (Atomic Bombs)Fusion bombs (Hydrogen Bombs)The Sun's heat input to the Earth's ecosystemThe Sun's light input to photosynthesisAlpha particles from Americium-241 in an ion chamber forming a smoke detectorElectromagnetic energy used in motors and generatorsMedical diagnostic imaging using radionuclides such as Technicium-99mX-RaysCT ScansPET scans(Anyone else care to contribute? Please feel free. Just add to the list.)
Example of radiation polution?
Surface waters are a powerful factor that causes migration of radionuclides across the territory of Belarus. For this reason it is essential to take into due account the transit role of rivers in the transportation of radionuclides, including transboundary transfer. In watercourses and flowing water bodies concentration of radionuclides are reducing every year, but they tend to accumulate in sttatic water bodies (lakes, ponds, reservoirs, especially in bottom sediments). Due to the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station (CNPS) one quarter of the country's territory was contaminated by caesium-137 (23%), strontium-90 (10%) and plutonium (about 2 %). Concentrations of caesium-137 by the year 2001 are presented in the (fig). According to the monitoring data the radiation situation in the Dnieper-Sozh and Pripyat basins is stable. The annual average concentration of caesium-137 has decreased significantly in large and small rivers for the observed 1987-2000 period. Exceeding of the National permissible levels (NPL-96, 99) for caesium-137 and strontium-90 were not observed. However, caesium-137 concentration in surface waters are closely connected with the annual volume of river flow, as can be seen from the increase in concentrations of caesium-137 in some rivers, where water supply was lower than the perennial average values. The data analysis of concentration of caesium-137 during the spring flood in the Pripyat basin in 1999 shows that concentration of caesium-137 in a dissolved form in the Pripyat basin (the city of Mozyr) remains at the level of the average indices for the prior period (1996-1998). Yet concentration of this radionuclide has considerably increased in dredges. This means that caesium-137 is washed out and transported by flood flow with sediments. According to the measurements of the total radioactivity of caesium-137, transferred by rivers during 12 years (1987-1999), 85% were transferred by the Ipyt during 2 years, 81% by the Sozh during 3 years, the Besed during 4 years, the Pripyat during 6 years, and 71% by the Dnieper during 9 years. The comparison between the indices of caesium-137 transfer for the period of 1987-1993 at the end-point monitoring checkpoints on the Dnieper and the Pripyat in the Ukraine and at the monitoring checkpoints in Belarus shows that only 26% of the total transfer of radioactive caesium-137 were generated within the 30-kilometer Chernobyl zone. Thus, in the river runoff formation large watersheds had greater impact on secondary river pollution within the first few years (3-4 years) after the Chernobyl accident than surface river runoff from highly contaminated territories with relatively small watersheds. Since the radiation situation has stabilized, transboundary transport of radioactive elements through river flow has significantly decreased. Mainly it is the Pripyat that transports radionuclides, in particular strontium-90, as they are washed out from the 30-kilometer Chernobyl zone. Due attention is devoted to studies of the radiation state of small rivers, which are tributaries of the Pripyat (the Braginka, Nesvich and Slovechna Rivers) and the Sozh (the Lipa and the Senna) in the most contaminated areas of the Gomel and Mogilev regions. Over the years radioactivity in water tends to decrease. The exception is the dissolved strontium -90, which is a specific feature for the CNPS zone. Annual data on the content of caesium-137 and strontium-90 (in soluble and suspended forms) in the bottom sediments and water biota suggest that bottom sediments and water biota are significant contributors to the total radioactivity of surface water systems. A tendency towards a reduction in radioactivity of bottom sediments and water biota is minor. During spring high water and summer-autumn flood, migration of radionuclides into open water systems occurs both in soluble and in absorbed forms on organic and mineral carrieres. The ratio between concentrations of caesium-137 and strontium-90 at the end checkpoints of the Braginka and Senna Rivers suggests that starting from1992-1993, the concentration of strontium-90 has begun to exceed that of caesium-137. That phenomenon is characteristic for surface watercourses close to the CNPS zone and is explained by an increase in migration ability of strontium-90 due to its release from active particles.
What is a Cosmogenic isotope?
a cosmogenic isotope is an isotope that is created in space by cosmic rays
Who treats diseases with radionuclides?
radiologist
What effect do radionuclides have on living things?
Radionuclides can be very hazardous to living things. It can damage the tissues and cause irreversible changes to the cells.
What substances used in radiology that emit radiation?
radionuclides
What does it mean natural radioactive?
Nuclear stability is the function of ratio of neutron to proton.If the number of neutrons is higher than is required for stability of the nucleus, the nucleus becomes unstable. In order to gain stability, it would try to convert this extra mass of neutrons into sub-particles which are thrown out of the atom. This is done to achieve stability.When this happens naturally it is called as natural radioactive decay.Over 60 radionuclides are found naturally and classified as primordial and cosmogenic and are found in soil, air and water around us.
What are the two radionuclides which concentrate on seafood?
Although Mercury can be found in fish and shellfish the two radionuclides which concentrate in seafood are Lead-210 and Polonium-210. (Source: FEMA Radiological Emergency Management Course IS-3)
What diagnostic procedure uses positive radionuclides to reconstruct brain sections?
Positron emission tomography
Ion of sodium isotope of uranium proton of hydrogen or proton of oxygen is most likely to be radioactive?
Hydrogen has only one natural radioactive isotope(3H), of cosmogenic origin, but only in ultratraces on the earth. Sodium has two radioactive natural isotopes (22Na and 24Na), of cosmogenic origin, but only in ultratraces on the earth. Oxygen has not natural radioactive isotopes. All the isotopes of uranium are radioactive.
What happens to the water from a decommissioned nuclear power plant?
During the cooling process, the water becomes contaminated with radionuclides – unstable atoms with excess energy – and must be filtered to remove as many radionuclides as possible. The filtered water is then stored in huge steel tanks or released into nearby bodies of water.
What is the common isotopes of the element of tellurium?
Some common radionuclides that can be produced from tellurium-124 are Iodine-123 and Iodine-124.
What type of imaging uses low level radionuclides to locate and stage tumors?
Radionuclide Scanning (nuclear Medicine Scanning)
What is nuclear chemotheraphy?
Some radionuclides used in nuclear medicine can emit radiation that kills cancer cells. There are also pharmaceuticals that behave a certain way in the body (like accumulating in the thyroid). By attaching the radionuclides to the pharmaceuticals, we can "spot" treat things like thyroid cancer without giving a big radiation dose to the rest of the body.
