cesium-137
1
8.6
- noun
- /ˈsiːziəm-ˈwʌnˈθirtyˈsɛvən/
- Specialized
:
cesio-137
- The report says, based on data from the global network of air samplers set up to verify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, levels of radioactive cesium-137 are near 60% of the emissions from the 1986 disaster in the former Soviet Union.
Examples
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With a half-life of 30 years, cesium-137 gives off highly penetrating radiation and is absorbed in the food chain as if it were potassium.
Blog text (25) -
Another reporter returned to the question of the Austrian report and the concerns about cesium-137 which, unlike the radioactive iodine discovered in drinking water which decays quickly, has a half-life of some 30 years.
Blog text (5) -
And most cesium-137 particulate, which is relatively heavy and should fall into the ocean before these winds reach the US.
Blog text (25) -
Cesium-137 is a convenient bellwether for all the rest.
Blog text (25) -
Particularly worrisome is the large amount of cesium-137 in fuel ponds, which contain anywhere from 20 to 50 million curies of this dangerous radioactive isotope.
Blog text (25) -
High-activity isotopes for medical applications include cesium-137, cobalt-60, iridium-192, and strontium-90.
Academic text (2012) -
Cesium-137 decays mainly by beta emission, so it is the gamma radiation intensity that is the critical factor in ascertaining the stability of its decay.
Blog text (5) -
Of the dozen radioactive isotopes released, Cesium 137 is among the most dangerous due to its 30-year half-life, and the fact that our bodies and the ecosystem absorb it quickly as if it were potassium.
Blog text (25) -
One major concern is the fission product cesium-137 (Cs-137), which made a major contribution (about three quarters) to the long-term radiological impact of the 1986 Chernobyl accident.
Blog text (25) -
Cesium-137 is commonly used in cesium-137 therapy to treat certain types of cancer.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Cesium-137 begins with cesium, from the Latin caesius meaning 'sky-blue', because the element gives bright blue lines of light when heated. The number 137 names a particular radioactive form of that element, so cesium-137 is the 'blue' metal in its radioactive form used in medicine and as a tracer.