Why cobalt 60 is used

Cobalt is used as a radiation source in many common industrial applications, such as in leveling devices and thickness gauges. It is also used for radiation therapy in hospitals. Accidental exposures may occur as the result of loss or improper disposal of medical and industrial radiation sources.

Though relatively rare, exposure has also occurred by accidental mishandling of a source at a metal recycling facility or steel mill. Most exposure to Co takes place intentionally during medical tests and treatments. Such exposures are carefully controlled to avoid adverse health impacts and to maximize the benefits of medical care. Because it decays by gamma radiation, external exposure to Co can increase cancer risk. Our experiments have confirmed the results of our previous modeling studies that Cobalt—based tomotherapy is clinically viable.

Two-dimensional conformal dose delivery in a single slice with Co has been validated experimentally using radiochromic film dosimetry. We believe that these results clearly indicate that undertaking the task of further development and implementation of modern radiation techniques based on Co units is fully warranted. Conflict of Interest: None declared. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Journal List J Med Phys v. J Med Phys. John Schreiner , 1, 2 Chandra P. John Schreiner. Chandra P.

Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer. Address for correspondence: Dr. E-mail: ac. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Abstract The advances in modern radiation therapy with techniques such as intensity-modulated radiation therapy and image-guided radiation therapy IMRT and IGRT have been limited almost exclusively to linear accelerators. Keywords: Cobalt, intensity-modulated radiation therapy, image guidance, megavoltage computed tomography, tomotherapy. Introduction Modern radiation therapy is moving towards advanced conformal techniques such as intensity-modulated radiation therapy IMRT in conjunction with image guidance, bringing about image-guided radiation therapy IGRT , to ensure accurate patient treatment.

Materials and Methods All irradiations were performed on a Co TC unit Best-Theratronics, Kanata, Canada modified by the addition of a purpose-built computer-controlled rotate translate benchtop apparatus, as shown in Figure 1a. Open in a separate window. Figure 1. Results The findings to date confirm the viability of Co—based tomotherapy for conformal dose delivery.

Figure 2. Individual cobalt pencils can have an activity of TBq and an irradiator facility may have an array of cobalt pencils totalling up to a few hundred PBq. Disposal Options for Disused Radioactive Sources. Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. V Handbook on the Toxicity of Inorganic Compounds. Seiler, H.

Sigel and A. Sigel eds. Cobalt to sterilize medical instruments and devices, as x-ray source for food irradiation; in industrial radiography for non-destructive testing of high stress alloy parts; to crosslink, graft and degrade plastics.

O'Neil, M. In Tijuana, it was being used to treat cancer, but it can also be used to sterilize medical devices and destroy pathogens and bacteria in food. The isotope is also found in leveling devices and thickness gauges. But cobalt also has more sinister applications. More from GlobalPost: 'Extremely dangerous' radioactive material was stolen in Mexico.