Verified Document

Benefits Of Radioactive Materials Essay

Related Topics:

The importance of Radioactive material and how it could apply to your career path

Radioactive materials are a class of chemicals with the atom's nucleus being unstable. These chemicals will achieve stability through changes in the nucleus in a process called radioactive decay (Alsharef et al., 2020). The changes can occur through the emission of alpha particles, spontaneous fission, or conversion of neutrons to protons. Radioactive materials refer to nuclear materials that have nuclides that will undergo spontaneous disintegration. Radioactive materials' radiological or fissile properties might cause serious bodily injury, death, or substantial damage to property or the environment. Therefore, precautions must be taken when handling and disposing of radioactive materials. Examples of radioactive materials are cesium, iodine, cobalt, plutonium, radium, ionizing radiation, radon, thorium, strontium, and uranium.

Radioactive materials are vital for the diagnosis and treatment of illnesses. They are also vital in medical research. While not many people are aware, about a third of all hospital patients are treated or diagnosed using radioactive materials or radiation (Hanifah et al., 2021). Nuclear medicine is the branch of medicine concerned with the use of radioactive materials. In diagnosis, a small amount of radioactive material is inhaled, injected, or swallowed by the patient. The radioactive material will collect in the area being studied, emitting photons that a gamma camera can see. The organ's function can then be seen in the photos produced by the gamma camera allowing physicians to identify issues in an organ or identify and measure tumors (Strunk et al., 2018). Without the use of radioactive materials, it would be challenging to determine what might be the issue with an organ, and physicians would have to physically cut the patient and attempt to check the organ for any problems. Radioactive materials allow for a non-invasive method...

…through a plant to test techniques for pest control. Reducing the impact of pests on plants will result in increased yield. Also, we can analyze how fertilizers move through a plant to develop effective and better fertilizers.

In conclusion, we can develop effective methodologies for treating diseases and developing new medications by working in teams comprising physicists, chemists, and engineers to understand how various processes work in animals, people, and plants. The use of radioactive materials should not be seen negatively, especially considering we have been using them for a long time without us knowing. These materials have brought more benefits and allowed the discovery and development of better ways to treat and diagnose diseases. When radioactive materials are handled safely, they tend to offer more benefits to humans. Their use in healthcare has led to tremendous progress towards a healthier population and has allowed for the development of effective…

Sources used in this document:

References

Alsharef, S., Alanazi, M., Alharthi, F., Qandil, D., & Qushawy, M. (2020). Review about radiopharmaceuticals: preparation, radioactivity, and applications. Int J App Pharm, 12(3), 8-15. https://doi.org/10.22159/ijap.2020v12i3.37150

Hanifah, N. Z. H. A., Hashim, S., Hassan, H. J., Yusof, N. N., & Bradley, D. (2021). Radioactive material in cosmetic and healthcare products: Regulatory controls. Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 188, 109673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2021.109673

Strunk, A., Gazdovich, J., Redouté, O., Reverte, J. M., Shelley, S., & Todorova, V. (2018). Model PET scan activity. The physics teacher, 56(5), 278-280. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.5033868

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Medical Research & Ethics Medical Research and
Words: 1958 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Medical Research & Ethics Medical Research and Ethics Conflict between Medical Research & Ethics Conflict between Medical Research & Ethics: Case of Tuskegee Syphilis Each day medical providers and researchers make decisions about what information is necessary to disclose to patients and under what circumstances they should make disclosures. In the clinical setting, the negative implications of a poorly considered disclosure decision can involve simple problems such as a patient being unaware that a

Medical Research in the United States. Specifically
Words: 1766 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

medical research in the United States. Specifically it will discuss stem cell research and its relationship to ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Stem cell research, although highly debated in the U.S., should be made available in the country to enhance the quality of life by providing research, government funding, and quality physicians. Just what exactly is stem cell research? Stem cell research is one of the fastest growing areas of medicine,

Medical Research and Testing
Words: 723 Length: 2 Document Type:

Starring Hugh Grant, Gene Hackman, and Sarah Jessica Parker, the 1996 film Extreme Measures addresses classic bioethics principles. The most significant ethical principle the film presents is related to testing on human subjects. However, this subject is presented in the film as being linked to another significant biomedical ethical issue, and that is patient informed consent. Within these two issues are embedded a series of other issues, such as the

Medical Research and Military
Words: 1054 Length: 2 Document Type: Article Review

Military Application of Tranexamic Acid in Trauma Emergency Resuscitation This is an article that reviews military use of tranexamic acid in cases of resuscitation in the instance of a trauma emergency. Scular disturbance with concomitant bleeding is one of the main death causes in military and civilian trauma. Experience from Afghanistan and Iraq wars has caused developments in resuscitation of hemorrhage victims, with the use of optimum blood component ratio identification (Morrison,

Animal Rights - Medical Research
Words: 310 Length: 1 Document Type: Term Paper

Society at large does not and would not permit risking harm to humans in order to avoid using animals for research (Animals pp). The pharmaceutical industry uses animals only when research cannot be accomplished in other ways, and always with care (Animals pp). If society wants to relieve conditions such as epilepsy, asthma, multiple sclerosis, and heart disease, then animals will continue to be need for research (Animals pp). Although it

Clinical Research Ethics Medical Research Is the
Words: 1646 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

Clinical Research Ethics Medical research is the most sensitive field of research in the entire field of academia. It is governed by several rules, regulations, and ethical standards. For instance, no research endeavor is allowed in case it hurts the life of any human being whether directly or indirectly. Secondly, any research that is to be done must meet environmental conservation measures and should not deride or harm human dignity in

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now