Radioisotopes

Medical Treatment:

Co-60 is used for cancer treatment by irradiating the affected areas of the body with
gamma rays, which kill cancer cells (and some normal cells too). Co-60 is made by
neutron bombardment of normal Co-59; it disintegrates by beta emission to form
Ni-60. It is the gamma rays that are produced by this decay that attack cancer
because they are able to penetrate deeply into body tissue.
Co-60 is used because the gamma rays carry a suitable amount of energy to destroy certain biological

(5.27 years).

molecules, and because Co-60 has a suitable half-life

This half-life is sufficiently long
enough for the radiation source to have a reasonable shelf life in equipment (about 4 to 6 years) but short
enough for the source to emit a reasonable intensity of radiation.
Unwanted beta particles can be filtered out. The gamma rays are constant and allows for accuracy. Co-60 is
relatively cheap and easy to manufacture. Gamma rays are directed only to the specific targeted part of the
body, where it destroys DNA in carcinoma and thus reduces or eradicates their reproduction and existence.
Industry Uses:

Co-60 is used in industry as a thickness gauge because it has a fairly low energy
emission but a long half-life. It is beneficial to have low energy so that a significant
proportion of radiation is absorbed by the thin film, and has a long half-life to
reduce the frequency that the source must be replaced.
Co-60 is used in irradiation of medical supplies and food due to the gamma rays
effectiveness of destroying large biological molecules such as DNA, so that
bacteria are killed to sterilise medical supplies such as dressings and bandages. It
also is effective in destroying microorganisms to minimise soilage and extend selflife. Food irradiation requires gamma rays of sufficient energy to destroy bacteria
but not enough energy to make the food radioactive. Co-60 is suitable for this
purpose.
Co-60 is not very harmful once disposed, and it has the ideal intensity to destroy what is required without
making the subject radioactive. Gamma radiation breaks chemical bonds and ionises particles, damages DNA,
slows ripening, sprouting, spoilage and kills some bugs. It can however create some new

unknown chemicals in food, it destroys thiamine, some foods are unsuitable and
negligence can cause excess exposure.
Reaction Mechanisms in Research

I-131 can be used to study equilibrium in H2 (g) + I2 (g) 2HI (g)

C-14 can be used to work out the individual steps that occur in photosynthesis, by exposing a
plant to carbon dioxide containing some C-14. By isolating particular compounds at various stages of
the process and measuring their radioactivity, they could determine whether the compound came from the
carbon dioxide or not. This is how the mechanism for photosynthesis was determined. This is called using C14 as a tracer.