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What is the decay constant of cesium-137?

What is the decay constant of cesium-137?

Cs decays with a half-life of (30.05 ± 0.08) years [4] to either the 137Ba ground state, with emission of a β particle (Q = 1176 keV, 5.3%), or to 137mBa (Q = 514 keV, 94.7%) which rapidly (t1/2 = 2.552 min) decays to the 137Ba ground state with emission of a 661.7 keV γ photon.

What is the decay mode emitted from Cs-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.

What does Caesium 137 do to the body?

External exposure to large amounts of Cs-137 can cause burns, acute radiation sickness, and even death. Exposure to Cs-137 can increase the risk for cancer because of exposure to high-energy gamma radiation.

How long does it take for cesium-137 to decay?

about 30.17 years
Caesium-137 has a half-life of about 30.17 years. About 94.6% decays by beta emission to a metastable nuclear isomer of barium: barium-137m (137mBa, Ba-137m).

Can you touch cesium?

If you were to breathe, eat, drink, touch, or come close to large amounts of radioactive cesium, cells in your body could become damaged from the radiation that might penetrate your entire body, much like x-rays, even if you did not touch the radioactive cesium.

What type of radiation is cesium 137?

gamma rays
A Cs-137 atom emits radiation in the form of medium energy gamma rays, and to a lesser extent, high-energy beta particles, which disrupt molecules in cells and deposits energy in tissues, causing damage.

Which radioactive emission has the greatest penetrating power but the least ionizing power?

Gamma rays
Gamma rays may pass all the way through a human body without striking anything. They are considered to have the least ionizing power and the greatest penetration power. The safest amount of radiation to the human body is zero.

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.

What type of radiation is cesium-137?

Can cesium be weaponized?

‘The amount of cesium in one of these irradiators is enough to contaminate and create widespread panic over an extremely large area if dispersed by a terrorist. A dirty bomb packed with cesium would not kill large numbers of people.

How do you remove cesium from your body?

Exposure to stable cesium is not considered to be a major public health threat since it is mildly poisonous and has limited use. However, medical providers may prescribe a compound called Prussian blue, which can remove stable cesium from the body in waste matter. In most cases, cesium leaves the body in urine.

What happens to strontium 90 when it decays?

Strontium- 90 decays to yttrium-90, which in turn decays to stable zirconium. The isotopes of strontium and yttrium emit beta particles as they decay. The release of radiation during this decay process causes concern about the safety of strontium and all other radioactive substances.

How long does strontium-82 last in a generator?

Strontium (Sr-82) ChlorideHalf-Life: 25.55 days STRONTIUM-82 RADIOCHEMICAL STRONTIUM CHLORIDE SOLUTION Strontium-82 is used exclusively to manufacture rubidium-82 generators. The generator system makes rubidium-82; the most convenient Positron Emission Tomography (PET) agent in myocardial perfusion imaging.

How does Cesium 137 decay in the environment?

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.

Where can I find the chemical element strontium?

Please visit the Strontium element page for information specific to the chemical element of the periodic table. More… Unless otherwise noted, the contents of the FDA website (www.fda.gov), both text and graphics, are not copyrighted.

What is the decay constant of cesium 137?

Cs decays with a half-life of (30.05 ± 0.08) years [4] to either the 137Ba ground state, with emission of a β particle (Q = 1176 keV, 5.3%), or to 137mBa (Q = 514 keV, 94.7%) which rapidly (t1/2 = 2.552 min) decays to the 137Ba ground state with emission of a 661.7 keV γ photon.

What type of decay does cesium 137?

beta particles
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.

Is Cesium 137 a gamma emitter?

Caesium 137 is a radioactive element with a relatively long half-life of 30.15 years. This particular isotope of caesium is both a beta and gamma emitter. It is produced in some abundance by fission reactions.

What does it mean for Caesium 137 to have a half-life of 30 years?

Physical Half Life is the time for a quantity of radioisotope to decay by half (Cs-137 = 30 years) Biological Half Life is the time for 1/2 of the amount of a radionuclide to be expelled from the body (CS-137 = 70 to 100 days)

What does cesium 137 do to the human body?

External exposure to large amounts of Cs-137 can cause burns, acute radiation sickness, and even death. Exposure to Cs-137 can increase the risk for cancer because of exposure to high-energy gamma radiation.

What does cesium do to the body?

High levels of radioactive cesium in or near your body can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bleeding, coma, and even death. This may occur after nuclear accidents or detonation of atomic bombs.

What kind of decay does Cesium 137 undergo?

137 55 Cs. It is also a β -emitter, which means it undergoes β -decay by a neutron decaying into a proton, releasing an electron. Protons and neutrons have the same mass, so the mass number doesn’t change.

Why is Cesium 137 a significant fission product?

The radioactive isotopes cesium-137 and cesium-134 are significant fission products because of their high fission yield, their long half-lives, and their biochemical similarity to potassium. The fission yield of cesium-137 in nuclear reactions is relatively high, about 6 atoms of cesium-137 are produced per 100 fission events.

Where did the radioactive isotope caesium 137 come from?

Caesium-137, along with other radioactive isotopes caesium-134, iodine-131, xenon-133, and strontium-90, were released into the environment during nearly all nuclear weapon tests and some nuclear accidents, most notably the Chernobyl disaster and the Fukushima Daiichi disaster.

What kind of radiation does Cs 137 emit?

Both Cs 137 and its metastable nuclear isomer, barium -137m, emit gamma radiation of moderate energy and so are used in sterilization procedures in the food industry or in hospital environments. Computed by LexiChem 2.6.6 (PubChem release 2019.06.18)