The Zinc Of Cobalt 60

First a few general informations: Copper has the chemical symbol Cu,an atomic mass of 63.546 and 29 protons. This means that it has also 29 electrons. If 63.546 is rounded to 64 and 29 is subtracted from this, Copper has 35 neutrons. The melting point of copper is 1085 C°.

The purpose of this lab was to determine the percent cobalt and oxalate by mass, and with that information, the empirical formula for cobalt oxalate hydrate, using the general formula Coa(C2O4)b.cH2O.

Radium appears as a shiny, silvery metal of high radioactivity. Radium can be “used to treat prostate cancer that has spread to the bones,” and in the past, it was “used in luminous paints, for example in clock and watch dials” (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2017). Radium is present in the environment, and people that live in areas where coal or other fuels are burning and released into the air are more exposed to higher levels of radium. Radium can enter the body by breathing or swallowing and can remain in the body for months, only exiting in small amounts by urine and feces (“Public Health Statement for Radium,” 1990). High levels of radium exposure over a long period of time are extremely dangerous to the health of an individual. The harmful effects of radium could cause “anemia, cataracts, fractured teeth, cancer (especially bone cancer), and death” (“Public Health Statement for Radium,” 1990). The greater amount of radium exposure an individual receives, the greater their chance is to developing one of these diseases (“Public Health Statement for Radium,”

It is now known that radium, shown in figure 4, is a potent carcinogen (a substance the cause’s cancer (Wilbraham, Staley, Marta, & Waterman, 2005)). It emits a form of ionizing radiation which “includes electromagnetic radiation (e.g., gamma rays and X-rays) as well as particles (e.g., alpha particles, beta particles, high-speed neutrons, high-speed electrons, high-speed protons, etc.)” (National Library of Medicine, n.d.). Acute studies have been done on the effects of radium exposure on the human body by organizations like the Geneva World Health Organization, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. As a result of their findings, The National Library of Medicine states that sufficient evidence has been provided showing that prolonged exposure to Raduim-224, Radium-226,

Zinc is not just used for batteries, pennies and brass shell casings. It is also used for medicine. Interestingly it is known as an “essential trace element” for the small amounts of it necessary for human health. It was discovered by Andreas Marggraf in 1746 in Germany, after two other men (William Champion and Anton von Swab) a couple years earlier. Andreas Marggraf though, was credited for the isolation of Zinc after establishing a detailed theory for it. A reason I chose the picture of the pennies is because they are thought to be made of copper, but these days it is about 97.5% zinc inside. The brass shell casings are interesting for the reason that the brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, showing another variety of objects made of zinc.

The radiological elements have been of great use to communities as a source of power generation, scientific experiments, treatments, and for the detection of various illnesses. although, these same materials have caused great harm to people and communities as well. The radiological material has been used during war time and have also been accidentally release causing harm, injury, and death to people. The United States government regulates these materials and dictates who can possess them and how they must store, safeguard, and dispose of them. The threat of terrorism is of great concern regarding radiological material as this could be used to intentionally

Over the next several years, (during the 1920s) many of the factory workers became very ill and exhibited symptoms such as severe anemia, extreme joint pain, and disintegrating jaws (Carter, 2007, p. 2). Radium is an incredibly unstable element, and thus it has a very short half-life. A half-life is the time it takes for half the original amount of the element to decay to another element, and because Radium-226 (its most common isotope) has a half life of only 1600 years, it is highly radioactive . Additionally, radium’s chemical properties resemble those of calcium, so when the young factory workers ingested the element, it made its way into their bones, where it would then decay and release alpha particles (large particles emitted from helium atoms), gamma rays (high speed light radiation) and beta particles (fast moving electrons) into nearby bones (Quigley, 2002). This ultimately caused extreme bone decay, as well as bone cancers in many instances. Because of this, radium can be classified as a carcinogen. Although alpha particles are not strong enough to penetrate flimsy substances such as paper, they are dangerous when ingested because tissue inside the body can receive high levels of ionizing radiation. As this reaction is taking place, alpha particles are being emitted as a helium atom gains two new protons (thus increasing its atomic number), and the atom’s mass subsequently increases by

Devices containing Cesium 137 can sometimes be sold for scrap metal, if this scrap metal finds it way to a steel or metal mill and is melted the metal can have a major im[act on the environment, these device should be considered with care and be seen as a dangerous object.

Cobalt, the 27th element on the periodic table is the study of this biochemical discussion. Blue in its natural form, it has many uses. To explain further, it uses either come naturally or medicinally. Also, there is important history about cobalt that dates backs to ancient times. Controversy also comes in place when speaking about elements and their interaction with humans and their environment. The current research being done on cobalt is very important as it intervenes with the next topic. The future; how much do we have? Is the right amount of money being put into research? And Is there any research or new ideas on the future uses of cobalt? These questions are ready and want to be answered. Reviewing and processing the words on this page hopefully you will get a further insight to these questions. Ultimately, you will learn more about cobalt’s part in biochemistry.

Zinc has an atomic structure of 4 levels. As shown above, these are the 4 shells. The four levels display their individual energy, overall adding up to the atomic number of 30. This can be seen below.

The maximum permissible exposure for a person under 18 working with radiation is one-tenth the adult limit or not to exceed 500 millirems per year above the 300+ millirems of natural sources, plus medical radiation. This was established in 1957 and reviewed as recently as 1990. Like alcohol intoxication levels, levels of exposure to radioactivity (due to radioactivity deposited in the body) depend on a person's weight. A diagnostic tracer of one microcurie of radioactive calcium 45, given orally, would result in an exposure of 3.7 millirems for a 100-pound person, and half of that, 1.85 millirems, for a 200-pound person.

Iodine-131 is radioactive iodine with an eight day half-life, resulting in a large amount of absorption in the thyroid gland (Alcalay, 2011). Cesium-137 is similar to potassium with a 30 year half-life which concentrates in muscle, and is found in contaminated soil and food grown in these areas (Alcalay, 2011). Strontium-90 is similar to calcium, with a 28 year half-life which concentrates in bone, soil and ground water (Alcalay, 2011). Plutonium-239 is deemed as one of the greatest toxins found on earth with a half-life of 24,000 years (Alcalay, 2011). If strontium-90 is absorbed it is known to cause cancer and now it is, unfortunately, in the soil and ground water of the Marshall Islands (Alcalay,

Zinc is known as a cofactor for enzymes included in metabolism and also for appropriate two hundred enzymes in human body as well as a direct participator for the RNA. Because zinc plays an essential in human body energy metabolism and in anabolic, lacking of the consumption of zinc will result in some serious issue, one particular problem is blunts growth (Lukaski, 2000). Some elements can restrain the intake of zinc from diet such as phytate. A event occurred in the early 1960s in the Middle East that people ate the diets containing a high number of phytate which contribute the disease of adolescent nutritional dwarfism in this area. The reason may be that the food these people ate containing one being phytate which damages the absorption of zinc and other minerals (Lönnerdal, 2000). It is confirmed that nearly fifty percent of the world’s population is lacking the consumption of zinc(Prasad, 2003).

Gamma radiation is weakly emitted from depleted uranium+ but the fact that internalized uranium has direct contact with cells within the human body is cause for concern. Gamma radiation is a mutagen, meaning that is causes incorrect replication of DNA within a cell. The incorrect replication in DNA occurs because the radiation causes free radical to develop within a cell that cause an incorrect order of nucleotides, and when the cell replicates so does the error. This continued replication of Incorrect cells can become malignant and cause cancer+. The human body is resilient and does eject the uranium from the body through

Cobalt 60 is one of many radioactive isotopes. It contains 33 neutrons and 27 protons. Most people have not heard of Cobalt-60 unless they are involved in chemistry or the medial field. This isotope is more common than a person thinks. It is an isotope that is useful in the medical field and other places. This paper is all about Cobalt-60 and the history behind it as well as some other useful information.