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Chapter 21: Problem 62

After the Chernobyl accident, people living close to the nuclear reactor site were urged to take large amounts of potassium iodide as a safety precaution. What is the chemical basis for this action?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Taking potassium iodide in the event of a nuclear accident may protect against thyroid cancer by filling the thyroid's iodine receptors, preventing any subsequently encountered radioactive iodine from being absorbed.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding the role of iodine in the human body

The thyroid gland in the human body absorbs iodine from the food we eat. This iodine is used to make thyroid hormones that regulate the body's metabolism and other important processes.
02

Realizing the danger of radioactive iodine

In the event of a nuclear accident, radioactive iodine could be released. If this radioactive iodine is absorbed by the bodies of people in close proximity, it could lead to radiation sickness or thyroid cancer.
03

Understanding the role of potassium iodide

Potassium iodide (KI) can be used to protect the body from radioactive iodine. The non-radioactive iodine in KI fills up iodine receptors in the thyroid, ensuring that if any radioactive iodine is subsequently encountered, it cannot be absorbed.
04

Grasping the timing

The important caveat here is that KI needs to be taken before or immediately after exposure to radiation for it to have a protective effect - it is not a cure if radioactive iodine has already been absorbed.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

The quantity of a radioactive material is often measured by its activity (measured in curies or millicuries) rather than by its mass. In a brain scan procedure, a 70 -kg patient is injected with \(20.0 \mathrm{mCi}\) of \({ }^{99 \mathrm{~m}} \mathrm{Tc}\) which decays by emitting \(\gamma\) -ray photons with a halflife of \(6.0 \mathrm{~h}\). Given that the \(\mathrm{RBE}\) of these photons is 0.98 and only two-thirds of the photons are absorbed by the body, calculate the rem dose received by the patient. Assume all of the \({ }^{99 \mathrm{~m}}\) Tc nuclei decay while in the body. The energy of a gamma photon is \(2.29 \times 10^{-14} \mathrm{~J}\).

Explain the functions of a moderator and a control rod in a nuclear reactor.

The constituents of wine contain, among others, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. A bottle of wine was sealed about 6 yr ago. To confirm its age, which of the isotopes would you choose in a radioactive dating study? The half-lives of the isotopes are: \({ }^{14} \mathrm{C}: 5730 \mathrm{yr}\) \({ }^{15} \mathrm{O}: 124 \mathrm{~s} ;{ }^{3} \mathrm{H}: 12.5 \mathrm{yr}\). Assume that the activities of the isotopes were known at the time the bottle was sealed.

As a result of being exposed to the radiation released during the Chernobyl nuclear accident, the dose of iodine- 131 in a person's body is \(7.4 \mathrm{mC}(1 \mathrm{mC}=1 \times\) \(10^{-3} \mathrm{Ci}\) ). Use the relationship rate \(=\lambda N\) to calculate the number of atoms of iodine- 131 to which this radioactivity corresponds. (The half-life of \({ }^{131} \mathrm{I}\) is 8.1 days.)

The nucleus of nitrogen- 18 lies above the stability belt. Write an equation for a nuclear reaction by which nitrogen- 18 can achieve stability.
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