KOMPAS.com – Radiation is not always dangerous. One of the radiation sources that is very useful for humans is the isotope cobalt-60. radiation from radioisotope Co-60 is used to kill cancer cells.
Reported from Encyclopedia Britannica, Co-60 is the longest-lived radioactive isotope of cobalt with a half-life of 5.27 years. Here is the use of the Co-60 radioisotope by humans!
Kill cancer cells
Reported from Chemistry LibreTexts, radioisotope Co-60 used for radiotherapy in the treatment of tumors and cancer. Co-60 radiation is focused precisely on the area affected by cancer and can kill these unwanted cells.
Co-60 radiotherapy is widely used for the treatment of cancer and tumors because it has high energy and effectiveness in killing cancer cells, easy use, and lower costs.
Also read: Order of Translucency of Radioactive Rays
Sterilization
According to BJ Parsons in Sterilisation of Biomaterials and Medical Devices (2012), cobalt-60 (Co-60) produces gamma rays with energies of 1.173 and 1.332 MeV. Gamma rays with high energy can kill various microorganisms.
Thus, Co-60 is used in the sterilization of various products. For example, medical devices, drugs, cosmetics, packaging materials, food, as well as biological products.
Inspect for defects in metal
Metal is widely used for building structures. Defects in metal can make buildings unstable and dangerous for human use.
Defects in metals used for structural purposes can be detected using high-energy gamma rays of cobalt-60. The scanning of metal defects by cobalt-60 is the same as scanning the human body using x-rays.
Also read: Knowing the Half-Life of Radioactive Elements and Examples
Reported from United States Environmental Protection Agency, the defect inspection by Co-60 can also be used for testing welds and castings. This is done to obtain information on the strength and safety of the building.
Thickness measurement
radioisotope Co-60 is not only used to check metal defects, in industry it is also used as a thickness measuring and leveling tool. The measuring instrument has its own specifications, from very thin measurements to very thick measurements.
This can be done because Co-60 radiates gamma rays. Gamma rays are rays with very high radiation energy when compared to other radiation rays such as x rays and alpha rays.
The energy of gamma ray radiation is able to penetrate steel and also thick concrete. Thus, it can be used in industrial thickness measurement.
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