You’ve been tasked with disposing of some radioactive waste from the manufacture

Question

You’ve been tasked with disposing of some radioactive waste from the manufacture of medical imaging agents. The main radioactive isotope in this waste is 131I (which has a half-life of ~8.0 days and decays primarily via a - mechanism). There are companies that specialize in the disposal of radioisotopes, but they are very expensive. The local landfill has agreed to allow you to dispose of the waste as long as the radioactivity is below 1 x 10-3 mCi. a.) If the waste originally has an activity of 10 Ci, how long would you have to store the waste to be able to dispose of it in the landfill? (Remember to show your work for full credit) b.) What kind of container should you store the waste in while it’s decaying?

Explanation / Answer

Since radioactive decays are 1st order reactions.

Therefore the governing equation is :-

k*t = ln(A0/A)

or, (ln2/8)*t = ln(10/0.001)

or, t = 106.31 days

Thus, it will take 106.31 days to dispose.

The material must be stored in an adiabatic container.

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