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Cobalt therapy is the medical use of gamma rays from the radioisotope cobalt-60 to treat conditions such as cancer. Beginning in the 1950s, cobalt-60 was widely used in external beam radiotherapy (teletherapy) machines, which produced a beam of gamma rays which was directed into the patient's body to kill tumor tissue.
It is estimated that almost 80 percent of people received a dose less than 500 mrem (equivalent to 5 mSv); 18 percent, between 0.5 and 25 rems (5–25 mSv); and only two percent (about 80 people) received doses greater than 25 rems (250 mSv). Of these, five people received a dose between 300 and 700 rems (3–7 Sv) over a period of two months. [3]
Cobalt-60 (60 Co) is a synthetic radioactive isotope of cobalt with a half-life of 5.2714 years. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] : 39 It is produced artificially in nuclear reactors . Deliberate industrial production depends on neutron activation of bulk samples of the monoisotopic and mononuclidic cobalt isotope 59
A radiation accident occurred in Samut Prakan Province, Thailand in January–February 2000. The accident happened when an insecurely stored unlicensed cobalt-60 radiation source was recovered by scrap metal collectors who, together with a scrapyard worker, subsequently dismantled the container, unknowingly exposing themselves and others nearby to ionizing radiation.
Key:RMRCNWBMXRMIRW-WYVZQNDMSA-L Y. Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin involved in metabolism. [2] It is one of eight B vitamins. It is required by animals, which use it as a cofactor in DNA synthesis, and in both fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. [3]
In 1974, Axt calibrated a cobalt-60 teletherapy unit with an incorrect decay curve. The calculated decay rate was more rapid than the real source, leading to a dose rate underestimated by 10–45% and an overestimated treatment time. [2] [3] No other calibrations and checks were performed between May 1974 and January 1976. Axt later attributed ...
Cobalt poisoning is intoxication caused by excessive levels of cobalt in the body. Cobalt is an essential element for health in animals in minute amounts as a component of vitamin B 12 . A deficiency of cobalt, which is very rare, is also potentially lethal, leading to pernicious anemia .
In November 1951, the first Saskatoon patient, a 43-year-old mother of four, was treated for cervical cancer with a carefully calibrated dose of cobalt-60 radiation. In early 1952, Maclean's magazine had dubbed the cobalt-source radiotherapy machine the cobalt bomb - a tongue-in-cheek tribute to this peaceful use of nuclear technology.