Science Research Radioisotopes

Barry Feng
Question 1) Technetium-99m is one of the most widely used medical
radioisotope and is often used to perform scans on the brain and skeleton
through SPECT or single proton emission computed tomography. For example, a
skeletal or bone scan is done by injecting a small amount of medronic acid into
the patient through a shielded syringe. Medronic acid is a compound which
contains technetium-99m and are quickly absorbed by osteoblast cells, which are
primarily responsible for bone growth in the body. When a fracture occurs or a
brain tumour is present, the osteoblast cells will be present there and hence, the
radioisotope will be present. The gamma rays emitted through the radioactive
decay of the technium-99m will be detected by a gamma camera and processed
into an image form.

Technetium-99m decays into

Technetium-99 whilst releasing
gamma radiation.
Technetium-99m Advantages:

Various forms of technetium-99m will penetrate different tissues, allowing

for special diagnosis of specific organs.
Technetium-99m has an extremely short physical half-life, of around 6
hours, causing very little radioactive exposure and less harm to the
patient.
Technetium-99m Disadvantages:

Technetium-99m is the product of nuclear fission between uranium-235

and plutonium-239, Therefore, the production of technetium-99m is reliant
on a nuclear reactor, which is both expensive to operate and can form a
threat to the environment in the case of an accident or disaster.
As a result of its extremely wide use in the medical industry, the
production as well as usage of the radioisotope creates a large amount of
radioactive waste, which can be difficult to dispose of safely.
Question 2) Sodium-24 is commonly used as a means of detecting leaks in
underground pipes. The sodium-24 is introduced to the fluid within the pipe and
if there is a leak, the sodium-24 will leak into the surrounding earth, whilst
releasing beta-radiation. A Geiger counter or more specifically, a Geiger Muller
Tube will detect a high count rate and therefore, identify a leak. The use of Beta
radiation in this scenario is optimal as alpha radiation will not pass through the
topsoil, whilst gamma radiation will pass through the pipe.
Sodium-24 decays into
Magnesium-24 whilst releasing
beta particles.
Sodium-24 Advantages:

Sodium-24 only emits low intensity gamma radiation and beta particles,
which cannot penetrate the pipes walls and can be even be stopped by
human skin when in contact with humans.
 Sodium-24 may be harmful to humans if ingested or injected into the
bloodstream, however, by having a short half-life of 15 hours, will not pose
a direct threat to humans or animals.
Sodium-24 Disadvantages:

Similarly to technetium-99m, sodium-24 does not occur naturally and

requires a nuclear reactor to produce it, therefore, increasing the cost of
its manufacture as well as poses environmental concerns while the reactor
is in operation, in case an accident or disaster occurs.
Without proper care when handling the radioisotope, Sodium-24 can cause
biological damage to working handling the substance, likely resulting in
tissue damage or cancer in the long term.
Question 3) In comparison to other countries, Australia only produces a small
amount of nuclear waste, mostly residue from radioisotopes used in medical
diagnosis/treatment, industrial applications and research purposes. Nuclear
waste in Australia is usually stored over 100 various rural and urban sites across
Australia.
Radioactive waste is usually split into 3 categories, low, intermediate and high
level waste. Australia already stores low and intermediate level waste in storage
facilities across the nation. These categories of radioactivity are then father split
in smaller groups such as concrete rubble, soft waste and metallic material.
Waste of similar groups are finally broken down and contained in 200 litre drums
for storage. However, intermediate waste often comes in a fluid-form, which
requires the water within the solution to be evaporated, and remaining residue to
be contained within shielded storage containers. The waste within the steel
drums are often stored in a temporarily facility, then finally transferred to a
radioactive waste management facility. Permanent stores for such drums are
being considered and developed.
Bibliography

References
"Australia's Radioactive Waste | National Radioactive Waste Management
Facility".Radioactivewaste.gov.au. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 June 2016.

"Isotopes Of Sodium". Wikipedia. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 June 2016.

"Radioactive Waste Repository & Store For Australia - World Nuclear Association". World-
nuclear.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 June 2016.

"Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography". Wikipedia. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 June 2016.

"Technetium - Medical Uses". Technetium43.weebly.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 June 2016.

"Technetium (99Mtc) Medronic Acid". Wikipedia. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 June 2016.