Occurrence of Radioactivity

Some species of radioactivity occur naturally on Earth. A few species have half-lives comparable to the age of the elements (about 6 × 10⁹ years), so that they have not decayed away after their formation in stars. Notable among these are uranium-238, uranium-235, and thorium-232. Also, there is potassium-40, the chief source of irradiation of the body through its presence in potassium of tissue. Of lesser significance are the beta emitters vanadium-50, rubidium-87, indium-115, tellurium-123, lanthanum-138, lutetium-176, and rhenium-187, and the alpha emitters cerium-142, neodymium-144, samarium-147, gadolinium-152, dysprosium-156, hafnium-174, platinum-190, and lead-204. Besides these approximately 10⁹-year species, there are the shorter-lived 1 __________ fed by one or another of the above species; e.g., by various nuclei of the elements between lead (Z = 82) and thorium (Z = 90).

Another category of natural radioactivity includes species produced in the upper atmosphere by 2 __________ bombardment. Notable are 5,720-year carbon-14 and 12.3-year tritium (hydrogen-3), 53-day beryllium-7, and 2,700,000-year beryllium-10. Meteorites are found to contain additional small amounts of radioactivity, the result of cosmic ray bombardments during their history outside the Earth's atmospheric shield. Activities as short-lived as 35-day argon-37 have been measured in 3 __________of meteorites. Nuclear explosions since 1945 have injected additional radioactivities into the environment, consisting of both nuclear fission products and secondary products formed by the action of neutrons from nuclear weapons on surrounding matter.

The fission products encompass most of the known beta emitters in the mass region 75–160. They are formed in 4 __________, rising to maxima of about 7 percent per fission in the mass region 92–102 (light peak of the fission yield versus atomic mass curve) and 134–144 (heavy peak). Two kinds of delayed hazards caused by radioactivity are recognized. First, the general radiation level is raised by fallout settling to Earth. Protection can be provided by concrete or earth shielding until the activity has decayed to a sufficiently low level. Second, ingestion or inhalation of even low levels of certain radioactive species can pose a 5 __________, depending on the half-life, nature of radiations, and chemical behaviour within the body.

Nuclear reactors also produce fission products but under conditions in which the activities may be contained. Containment and waste-disposal practices should keep the activities confined and eliminate the possibility of leaching into ground waters for times that are long compared to the half-lives. A great advantage of thermonuclear fusion power over 6 __________, if it can be practically realized, is not only that its fuel reserves, heavy hydrogen and lithium, are vastly greater than uranium, but also that the generation of radioactive fission product wastes can be largely avoided. In this connection, it may be noted that a major source of heat in the interior of both the Earth and the Moon is provided by radioactive decay. Theories about the formation and evolution of the Earth, Moon, and other planets must take into account these large heat production sources.

Desired radioactivities other than natural activities and fission products may be produced either by irradiation of certain selected target materials by reactor neutrons or by charged particle beams or gamma ray beams of accelerators.