[Radioisotopes]

research arching our way of life they heal the sick make our Labor's more efficient improve the columns and perform untold chores in agricultural medical and industrial research [Music] what are radioisotopes they are merely unstable forms developments giving off unseen particles or raised from the nuclei during the process of changing to stable form alpha particles which are not very penetrating can be stopped by a sheet of paper later particles move a few feet in the air and can be halted by a relatively thin piece of wood gamma rays the most penetrating of the free travel long distances in air and can be stopped only by a large amount of heavy material shielding such as Len or thick concrete walls Radio isotopes omit one or more of these types of raise the rate of emission related to a characteristic of radioisotopes the half-light varies widely the half-life of normally available radioisotopes ranges from hours to thousands of years what a theme 42 for instance has a half-life of 12 hours while carbon-14 has a half-life of more than 5,000 years this means that one-half the potassium 42 has decayed after 12 hours but it would take 5,000 years for one half of a carbon-14 sample to decay three methods of producing Radio isotopes are by simple neutron capture with gamma-ray emission by fissioning of uranium atoms and by transmutation which means the capture of a neutron and the ejection of a proton in simple neutron capture a stable isotope such as cobalt 59 is bombarded by a neutron in absorbing the neutron the isotope becomes radioactive cobalt-60 and gives off a gamma ray during vision of u-235 for instance heavy uranium atoms split into both stable and radioactive isotopes they may break down in a variety of ways to give eventually radioisotopes with long enough half-lives so that they can be separated strontium 90 and cerium 144 are two examples finally in transmutation fast neutrons enter the nuclei of Evans and cause the ejection of proton this changes the identity of the element for example sulfur 32 becomes phosphorus 32 oak ridge national laboratory pioneered the production of radioisotopes in 1946 with the processing and higher than 131 and carbon-14 the laboratory the largest producer of radioisotopes in the world now offers more than 300 radioactive and stable isotope products at Oak Ridge Radio isotopes are produced by irradiating elements in reactors and by the extraction of fission products from highly radioactive wastes obtained during the processing of spent reactor fuels the most widely used method is true irradiation in reactors elements are prepared as target materials in small containers of various sizes the container after being cleaned is loaded with the element to be irradiated the cap is crimped and the container placed in a graphite stringer such as this model or insertion into the reactor if the material is to be inserted into a water-cooled reactor the elements are first sealed in a porch ampule and the container welded such target materials become radioactive by neutron capture they may also become radioactive by transmutation as in the case of phosphorus 32 production introducing phosphorus 32 an aluminum container lined with platinum to prevent corrosion of the metal and contamination of the target material is filled with software 32 the unit is then loaded into a fuel element similar to this or irradiation in the low intensity test reactor after three weeks of neutron bombardment the target material is ready for separation of phosphorus 32 the mixture of phosphorus 32 and sulfur is then moved to a hot sell for processing by distillation of the sulfur thick concrete walls and the leaded window protect the operator from radiation during these operations iodine-131 like several other short life isotopes is produced in the fissioning of uranium fuel slugs are loaded into the graphite reactor and bombarded by neutrons to create a chain reaction [Music] about three months later the fuel are removed and hauled in a protective carrier to the iodine processing area behind heavily shielded walls the slugs are dissolved in acid and the iodine distilled from the uranium solution in a series of operations after Radio isotopes are processed they are transferred to the packaging area for analysis and storage or shipping Radio isotopes in liquid form are stored behind a 20-inch concrete barricade in procuring a shipment the operator maneuvers the highly radioactive material while viewing the operation through mirrors another safeguard against radiation the storage bottle is moved to the transfer area where a pipette withdraws the correct amount of isotope and transfers it to a shipping bottle [Music] tightly capped the bottle is then placed in a protective container the shipping package is checked for possible radiation and contamination and the package is prepared for delivery a variety of containers is used since the activity of source determines the size of the protective carrier since short life Radio isotopes often must be sent considerable distances a close check on Transportation schedules is maintained to ensure proper livery important non-radioactive products offered by the laboratory are stable isotopes stable isotopes are enriched by accelerating electrically charged ions in a calutron when the ion source is placed between the poles of an electromagnet the fast-moving ions are deflected to a greater or lesser degree depending on their methods and then collected in receiving pockets this method provides usable quantities of the less abundant isotopes and higher purities of all isotopes one of the major uses for stable isotopes is the production of high specific activity radioisotopes the most recent significant developments in the isotope field is the large-scale separation of long life fission products such products are produced in kimmel curie quantities in Oak Ridge National Laboratories fission products Planet plant the feed material is nuclear waste obtained during the processing of spent reactor fuels this unique pilot plant known as f3p is designed to process nuclear waste solutions by separating purified and packaging the fission products individually the plant was built to satisfy of growing demand for long life Radio isotopes and to develop large-scale fission product separation processes the facility is equipped to handle with minor changes most types of waste the plants nine cells in the north bank contain equipment for chemical processing six south bank sells old equipment for final purification and fabrication of radioactive sources the chemical processing cycle begins with a feeding of waste material into the evaporator while the volume is reduced considerably from here the concentrated feed flows to the first of four identical cells each containing a precipitator centrifuge centrifuge a collection tank and a fraction tank [Music] after the concentrated feed has entered the precipitator gaseous ammonia is added while the solution is being thoroughly agitated the precipitated slurry then flows to the centrifuge why the liquid phase is separated from the solids which adhere to the wall the effluent from the centrifuge flows to a collection tank nitric acid is then added to dissolve the cake material this solution containing ruthenium 106 is stored in the cells fraction tank for later processing this precipitation and centrifugation process is alternately repeated in three similar cells the effluent from the initial collection tank then flows to the next cell where cerium 144 and promethium 147 are removed when the procedure is repeated once more strontium 90 is obtained in the faction technetium 99 is separated during the fourth precipitation and centrifugation process effluent from the centrifuge in this processing step is sent to batch crystallized errs for separation of cesium-137 here ammonium alum is added to the solution the solution is heated to 90 degrees centigrade then cooled and agitated causing the formation of crystals containing cesium 137 after the crystals of settle the remaining solution is filtered and transferred to a second crystallizer where the procedure is repeated this removes most of the cesium remaining after the first crystallization step the initial crystal bed is dissolved in hot water and the solution directed to a similar unit where caesium alum is separated from ammonia malam following this separation the cesium alum is transferred to a sovereign's processing cell for final purification here to a precipitation process caesium Alan is converted to caesium chloride the cesium chloride is then dried and the powder impressed into pellets caesium pellets are packaged in double stainless steel capsules for safety purposes and the container is welded with the packaging completed the cesium source is inserted into a shielded carrier for shipment to the user [Music] for the separation of thorium 144 the cerium promethium fraction is transferred to batch mixer settlers here an organic reagent is added and the cerium is expected into the organic phase the aqueous phase containing the promethium is separated from the organic by draining to the receiver tank this promethium solution is further purified by a second batch extraction after returning to the receiver tank the Promethean passes to a precipitator where it is precipitated as promethium oxalate this slurry close to a filter tank after being filtered the oxalate is dissolved by adding nitric acid the solution is then transferred to resin columns located at another building for separation of promethium from other rare earth elements form during fission the resin beds adsorbed the rare earths from the solution the addition of citric acid to the resin column separates the rare earths into bands which are collected separately this separation is necessary to obtain highly purified pro medium at the f3p plant the cerium still in the organic phase is removed by the addition of nitric acid as the face is separate the cerium has gone into the receiver tank and then transferred to another cell for final force fabrication the other fission products ruthenium 106 strontium 90 and technetium 99 are put through similar final purification steps before their shipment to consumers the successful demonstration of fission product separation on a relatively large scale can lead to construction of production type facilities for separation of larger quantities there are indications that production quantities of fission products to be required for many uses included on the pasteurization and possible sterilization of foods and drugs initiators for unusual chemical reactions and utilization as special power sources the application of radioisotopes is well on its way to becoming the for most peaceful use of our nuclear technology used as tracers and engaging radioisotopes already have created significant effects on industrial economy radioisotope process control techniques couple for the electronic native tabulation and automatic control devices are expected to help speed the age of automation as a source of high-level radiation Radio isotopes will increase the distribution of foods and industrial products thereby helping to reduce one and to increase the world standard of living new industries will spring up to service and supply devices using Radio isotopes and to promote many new applications the United States through educational and technical assistance offered under an Atoms for Peace program helps materially to realize worldwide benefits from the atom Oh you you