What does Caesium 137 do to the body?
Cesium and Health External exposure to large amounts of Cs-137 can cause burns, acute radiation sickness and even death. Exposure to such a large amount could come from the mishandling of a strong industrial source of Cs-137, a nuclear detonation or a major nuclear accident.
How many grams of cesium were in Chernobyl?
During the Chernobyl explosion, about 27 kg of cesium-137 were expelled into the atmosphere. [2] After the rapid decay of iodine-131, cesium-137 was the predominant source of radiation in fallout from the Chernobyl explosion.
Why is barium 137 Safe?
This Cs-137/Ba-137m Isotope Generator is used to demonstrate the properties of radioactive decay. Approximately 30 minutes after elution, the residual activity of the Ba-137m sample has decayed to less than one thousandth of its initial activity, making it safe for disposal.
Can cesium be ingested?
These results indicate that cesium is only slightly toxic acutely and would pose an acute health hazard only when ingested in large quantities.
What is a safe amount of cesium-137?
4 millirems per year
EPA has established a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 4 millirems per year for beta particle and photon radioactivity from man- made radionuclides in drinking water. Cesium- 137 would be covered under this MCL.
What is the fission yield of Cesium 137 in nuclear reactions?
The fission yield of cesium-137 in nuclear reactions is relatively high, about 6 atoms of cesium-137 are produced per 100 fission events. Cesium-137 has a radioactive half-life of about 30 years and decays by beta decay either to stable barium-137 or a meta-stable form of barium ( barium -137m).
What is another name for cesium 137?
For the band, see Cesium 137 (band). ), or radiocaesium, is a radioactive isotope of caesium that is formed as one of the more common fission products by the nuclear fission of uranium-235 and other fissionable isotopes in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Trace quantities also originate from natural fission of uranium-238.
What is the decay product of Cesium 137?
Cesium-137 decays in the environment by emitting beta particles. As noted above, cesium-137 decays to a short lived decay product, barium-137m. The latter isotope emits gamma radiation of moderate energy, which further decays to a stable form of barium.
How dangerous is cesium-137?
Despite its prevalence in spent nuclear fuel and nuclear waste, cesium-137 is actually extremely rare. Its half-life is too short for it to persist from natural fission sources, and on earth it is a synthetic isotope only. Should further nuclear accidents be avoided, the dangers of cesium-137 will eventually cease.