Shortage of medical isotopes in the world, what can we do?
Sam S asked:
Now to my understanding the chalk river plant is going to not be producing medical isotopes for quite some time. This has shortened the world supply by about 50 percent. Since medical isotopes have a short lifespan, how are they different from the isotopes and radioactives chemicals used in nuclear weapons? Why aren’t they deterioating or are they? Could we use those isotopes?
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Now to my understanding the chalk river plant is going to not be producing medical isotopes for quite some time. This has shortened the world supply by about 50 percent. Since medical isotopes have a short lifespan, how are they different from the isotopes and radioactives chemicals used in nuclear weapons? Why aren’t they deterioating or are they? Could we use those isotopes?
June 25th, 2009 at 10:57 am
…We can use any thing…if we learn how!!!
June 28th, 2009 at 6:17 am
Dude
The only thing I know is this is the MILITARY section of Yahoo not Medical , both start with an “M” so you were close.
June 28th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Nuclear weapons have radioactive material like Uranium and plutonium which is radioactive for tens of thousands of years.
Radionuclides are ordinary material that have an extra neutron added in a reactor which is given off as gamma radiation in a few hours when it is injected into the body. These ordinary materials are one of the following; Iodine, thalium, gallium, fluorine, indium, technetium, and the gases xenon, and krypton.