cesium curies

Terrorists could make a 'dirty bomb' from this common ...

Scientific "vulnerability assessments" performed by the Sandia National Laboratories and provided to the committee showed that a bomb with 1,000 curies, about four teaspoons of cesium, could ...

Radiation Hazard Scale | CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed the Radiation Hazard Scale as a tool for communication in emergencies. Provides a frame of reference for relative hazards of radiation. Conveys meaning without using radiation measurements or units that are unfamiliar to people. Is designed for use only in radiation emergencies and is ...

Radioactive Theft in Mexico: What a Thief Doesn't Know Can ...

While the Curie content has not been reported, I would estimate that it could range from a few hundred Curies to a few thousand depending on the age of the cobalt source. Cobalt-60 has a half-life of 5.27 years, so after that amount of time has elapsed, only half the original amount of radioactivity is left.

Radionuclides | US EPA

Radium-226, Cesium-137, and Strontium-90 are examples of radionuclides.. Some occur naturally in the environment, while others are man-made, either deliberately or as byproducts of nuclear reactions. Learn the Radiation Basics. Every radionuclide emits radiation at its own specific rate, which is measured in terms of half-life.

Caesium-137 - Wikipedia

Caesium-137 (137 55 Cs), 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.It is among the most problematic of the short-to-medium-lifetime …

How dangerous would a radiation level of 1-15 curies of ...

Answer: Well, shall we do a "napkin calculation"? For contamination control purposes, we require some kind of protective clothing at contamination levels > 1,000 dpm/100 cm^2. A curie is 2.22 x 10^12 dpm. 15 curies of Cs-137/km^2 = 15 curies x 2.22 x 10^12 / 10^10 cm2, and X 100 = 33,300 dpm/100...

Radiation - Quantities and Units of Ionizing Radiation ...

1 kBq = 1000 Bq, 1 MBq = 1000 kBq, 1 GBq = 1000 MBq. An old and still popular unit of measuring radioactivity is the curie (Ci). 1 Ci = 37 GBq = 37000 MBq. One curie is a large amount of radioactivity. Commonly used subunits are mCi (millicurie), µCi (microcurie), nCi (nanocurie), and pCi (picocurie).

Radiation Units and Conversion Factors - Radiation ...

Note: In the table above the common units and SI units in each row are not equivalent in value, i.e., 1 curie does not equal 1 becquerel, but they both measure the same parameter. See Conversion Equivalence. top of page. Conversion Equivalence. 1 curie = 3.7 x 10 10 disintegrations per second.

What Is It - HPS Chapters

and cesium-134 are typically of less concern because of their radiological decay characteristics. The very long half-life of cesium-135 means it has a very low specific activity, and the slow decay rate combined with its low decay energy contribute to its low hazard. Cesium-134 has a half-life of 2.1 years and decays by emitting a beta particle.

Physical Studies on a Short-Treatment-Distance Cesium-137 ...

The nominal 800-curie source, supplied by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is 2.86 cm. in diameter by 1.8 cm. thick, and yielded an exposure dose rate of 3.62 r/minute at 1 meter in April 1959. The supplier stated that the source contained no radioactive contaminants other than cesium-134, which was less than 1 per cent.

USDA | OHSEC | Radiation Safety Division | Radionuclide ...

DOT A2 limit in normal form per Type-A package: 800 Curies Cesium (Cs-137) Cesium (Cs-137) is a radioactive isotope of cesium, which is a product of nuclear fission. It has an atomic number of 55 and a half-life of 30.2 years. It emits a beta particle, and it also emits 662 kev gamma rays. Cesium (Cs-137) is an external radiation hazard.

RADIOISOTOPES IN THE TREATMENT OF CANCER

about 6 curies of cobalt-60 or about 24 curies of cesium-137. In contrast, a modern cobalt unit com­ monly holds between 1 000 and 5 000 curies. It was not merely a question of cost, but of availability, since larger amounts of radium simply did not exist. In order, therefore, to provide a reasonable intensity of

3. HEALTH EFFECTS

CESIUM 22 3. HEALTH EFFECTS exposure). Age-specific dose coefficients for inhalation and ingestion of any of the radioactive isotopes of cesium by the general public can be found in ICRP publications 71 (ICRP 1995) and 72 (ICRP 1996),

Cleaning up the threat of terrorists' dirty bombs ...

Cesium-137 is a radioactive isotope with a half-life of 30 years used in hospital irradiators to purify blood for transfusions. ... They contain about 3,000 curies of …

Cesium 134 - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics

8.18.1 Cesium. 134 Cs and 137 Cs are major fission products in nuclear processes and, with half-lives of 2.1 and 30 years, respectively, they constitute an important source of contamination of the environment with radioactivity. Major releases have come from nuclear weapons testing, the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant at Windscale, and the ...

Rad Pro Calculator: Free Online Gamma Activity, Dose Rate ...

The activity of a source in a pig may be calculated without having to remove the source, given that the dose-rate outside of the pig is measurable. A third useful calculation is shield thickness. Input the current dose-rate and the desired dose-rate and the thickness of the shield required will be calculated for you.

Cesium 137 and its Gamma Radiation in Teleradiotherapy

In the USA, radioactive cesium is produced at Oak Ridge as dry cesium chloride powder. This powder is then pressed to form compact pellets with a density of about 3.3 g/cma, containing 22 curies of CS'~' per gram of solid. The pellets are made in various diameters and doubly enclosed in welded stain- less steel capsules.

Steven Starr: The Implications of The Massive ...

Compare that to the 88 Curies per gram for Cesium-137. This is like comparing a stick of dynamite to an atomic bomb. Highly-radioactive fission products such as Cesium-137 and Strontium-90 emit 10 to 20 million times more radiation per unit volume than does Potassium-40.

Radiation Conversation Table

RADIATION : Dose : Amount : rem : sievert: curie : becquerel : 0.1 mrem : 1 m Sv: 1 pCi : 37 mBq: 1 mrem : 10 m Sv 27 pCi : 1 Bq: 10 mrem : 100 m Sv (0.1 mSv) 1 nCi ...

USDA | OHSEC | Radiation Safety Division | Irradiators

The source of the radiation is typically a cobalt (Co-60) or cesium (Cs-137) sealed source. The radioactive source is completely contained in lead shielding, which is an integral part of the irradiator equipment. ... The activity of the irradiator source can be in the thousands of Curies. Together with the shielding, the irradiators can weigh ...

Cesium-137 | definition of Cesium-137 by Medical dictionary

One billion curies of strontium-90 and cesium-137 have been injected so far, which, because of their half-life, would be expected to shrink to one curie in about 900 years. COLD WAR HOT NUKES Elliot GL, Cole-Clark BE (1993) Estimates of erosion on potato lands on Krasnozems at Dorrigo, N.S.W, using the Cesium-137 technique.

Determination of curie content and {sup 134/137}cesium ...

Theoretical cesium curie content of 8-1-84 was 15200 curies {sup 134}Cs and 8973 curies {sup 137}Cs. Direct assay cesium ratio is 12% to 26% higher than the predicted ratio of 1.7. The measured {sup 134}Cs data indicate between 20%--61% more activity than that predicted by the burnup code, whereas the measured {sup 137}Cs activity is between 4% ...

cesium | Description, Symbol, Uses, & Facts | Britannica

cesium (Cs), also spelled caesium, chemical element of Group 1 (also called Group Ia) of the periodic table, the alkali metal group, and the first element to be discovered spectroscopically (1860), by German scientists Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff, who named it for the unique blue lines of its spectrum (Latin caesius, "sky-blue"). This silvery metal with a golden cast is …

Swiss Solution | San Onofre Safety

Swiss nuclear waste storage systems exceed US safety standards. San Onofre contains 89 times the curies of Cesium-137 released from Chernobyl R.Alvarez June 2013. The Swiss Zwilag interim nuclear waste dry storage facility meets much higher safety standards than US nuclear waste dry storage systems.

Radioactivity : Radioactive Activity Doses

One curie corresponded to the activity of one gram of radium, or 37 billion disintegrations per second. Given this very high value of one curie, millicuries or microcuries were more commonly used. Physicists and engineers have since adopted a more logical unit – the Becquerel – which corresponds to a decay rate of one per second.

Cesium Disposal -Rad Journal - The Radiation Safety and ...

The average outside activity for a cesium source is likely in the range of 400r to 600r. Thus, the cost of storage alone is roughly $800,000. While recycling is an option for lower level waste, most recyclers of cesium deal with sources ranging from 1curie to 8 curies, 300 times less than the average activity for a 30 year-old blood irradiator.

Half-Life and Activity | Physics - Lumen Learning

One of the most common units for activity is the curie (Ci), defined to be the activity of 1 g of 226 Ra, in honor of Marie Curie's work with radium. The definition of curie is 1 Ci = 3.70 × 10 10 Bq, or 3.70 × 10 10 decays per second. A curie is a large unit of activity, while a becquerel is a relatively small unit. 1 MBq = 100 microcuries ...

Twenty-seven curies of Cesium-137 qualifies as a Category 2 quantity, which subjects the source to physical security and source tracking requirements. But a licensee is not required to meet financial assurance requirements unless it possesses 100,000 curies of Cesium-137. Similarly, 8.1 curies of Cobalt-

Joint Investigation Report - Energy

from the May 2, 2019 breach of a cesium-137 sealed source and resultant spread of contamination at the University of Washington (UW) Harborview Research and Training Facility (HRT). This was a joint investigation involving NNSA employees and Triad National Security, LLC (Triad) employees (as the Management and Operating [M&O] contractor, or

An 'extraordinarily severe' emergency: the radioactive ...

Decommissioning the device at Harborview — which contained 4,000 2,800 curies of cesium-137 — was part of a fairly common phasing-out procedure for hospitals and labs across the country. But a leak like this is not. The state Department of …

Solved c. Cesium-137 is a radionuclide. It takes around 1 ...

What is Cesium-137's half-life? When 5.4 curies of Cesium-137 is dispersed, how much Cesium-137 can remain after 5 years? (Note: the Curie is a unit of radioactivity. Radionuclide decay is a first order reaction.) Question: c. Cesium-137 is a radionuclide. It takes around 1.8 x 104 days for Cesium-137 to decay to one-third of its concentration.

2019 Seattle radiation leak a 'near miss' to disaster ...

Kamen, the radiation expert from New York, says only a small fraction of the 2,900 curie of Cesium in the capsule leaked. But the Seattle incident shows how much damage even a small amount of radioactive material can cause.

Environment - The New York Times

A picocurie is one‐tril lionth of one curie, which is a standard unit of radiati4n measurement. A lethal dose of cesium‐137 would consist of …

Nuclear War Analysis | NextBigFuture.com

Strontium-90 is a beta emitter (546 KeV, no gammas) with a half-life of 28.1 years (specific activity 141 curies/g). So 70 some halvings over 2000 years, translation there is 1000 times less after 281 years and one million times less after 562 years. Cesium-137 is a beta and gamma emitter with a half-life of 30.0 years (specific activity 87 Ci/g).

PREPARATION OF A CESIUM ($sup 137$Cs) BOROSILICATE GLASS ...

A 1540-curie Cs/sup 137/Cl source made in March 1954 and placed in service at the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies in 1955 was opened and examined to determine the effects of aging and continuous exposure to Cs/sup 137/ Cl and gamma radiation.

Solved 2. Cesium-137 is a radionuclide. It takes around 1 ...

Cesium-137 is a radionuclide. It takes around 1.5 x 104 days for Cesium-137 to decay to one-fourth of its concentration What is Cesium-137's half-life? When 5 curies of Cesium-137 is dispersed, how much Cesium-137 can remain after 4 years? (Note: the Curie is a unit of radioactivity. Radionuclide decay is a first order reaction.)

FACT SHEET: EPA FACTS ABOUT CESIUM-137

Cesium-137 is also commonly used in hospitals for diagnosis and treatment, as a calibration source, and large sources can be used to sterilize medical equipment. How does cesium change 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.

Cesium-137 | Cs - PubChem

Cesium-137. Please visit the Cesium element page for information specific to the chemical element of the periodic table. PubChem CID. 5486527. Structure. Find Similar Structures. Molecular Formula. Cs. Synonyms.