The Pros And Cons Of Radioisotopes

Radioisotopes are radioactive isotopes of an element. An isotope is an element’s atom that has the same number of protons and electrons, but a different number of neutrons, causing the atom to be unstable. With radioisotopes, they can occur naturally, but most often are formed artificially by altering the atom. Scientists measure the rate of which radioisotopes decay at by using the term half-life. This refers to when one-half of the radioactive material has decayed. When the word radioactive comes into play, many people believe that it is only detrimental to society. However, radioisotopes are actively used in research for medicine, science, and industry. For example, they can be implemented in a way that allows scientists to easily find and
One major detriment is the expenses. As mentioned above, radioisotopes can occur naturally, but most often, they have to be artificially engineered in laboratories. The technology that is needed to produce these radioisotopes is often advanced, therefore costing a large amount of money. For example, one machine that can create radioisotopes is a nuclear reactor. These machines need to be large and will take many workers and materials to build it. The people involved in the process of producing radioisotopes also is an expense (The Economics of Nuclear Power, 2015). Only highly trained people can work with radioisotopes due to the safety concerns. There is a risk of radiation when working in close contact with the nuclear reactions. This is because radioisotopes release radiation when they are being produced. Radiation has the power to detach an electron from an atom, which can lead to destruction and mutation of cells. Since radiation has this ability, and humans are composed of many cells, if there is enough radiation exposure, it can cause serious harm to health. One more drawback of radioisotopes is the disposal process, which is another expense. Radioisotopes must be disposed of properly and safely, due to radiation always being a concern. Radioisotopes may have short half-lives, but there are still risks when transporting and disposing the materials. The materials must be managed correctly – for example, one method of disposing the waste is to bury it deep into the ground, so that it cannot affect anything nearby (Radioactive Waste Management, 2015). Furthermore, there are quite a few drawbacks to using radioactive isotopes, not limited to only those mentioned