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Given its half-life, the radioactive activity of a gram of 60 Co is close to 42 TBq (1,100 Ci). The absorbed dose constant is related to the decay energy and time. For 60 Co it is equal to 0.35 mSv/(GBq h) at one meter from the source.
Cobalt-60 properties. Half-life: 5.27 years. Mode of decay: Beta particles and gamma radiation. Chemical properties: Metallic solid that can become magnetically charged. Appearance: Co-60 is a hard, gray-blue metal. It resembles iron or nickel.
cobalt-60, radioactive isotope of cobalt used in industry and medicine. Cobalt-60 is the longest-lived radioactive isotope of cobalt, with a half-life of 5.27 years. It is produced by irradiating the stable isotope cobalt-59 with neutrons in a nuclear reactor.
Naturally occurring cobalt, Co, consists of a single stable isotope, 59 Co (thus, cobalt is a mononuclidic element). Twenty-eight radioisotopes have been characterized; the most stable are 60 Co with a half-life of 5.2714 years, 57 Co (271.811 days), 56 Co (77.236 days), and 58 Co (70.844 days).
The half-life of cobalt-60 is about 5.3 years. How are people exposed to cobalt-60? Most exposure to cobalt-60 takes place intentionally during medical tests and treatments. These exposures are carefully controlled to avoid adverse health impacts. Cobalt-60 is produced as a result of weapons testing or in other nuclear reactions.
Properties and data of the isotope 60 Co. Contents. General Data. Radioactive Decay. Parent Nuclides. Isotones und Isobares. See also: list of Cobalt isotopes.
Half-life: 5.27 years. Cobalt in the Environment. There are very small amounts of Co-60 in the environment from nuclear facilities. Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations allow discharge of small amounts of Co-60 from licensed facilities. Cobalt Sources.
Each radioactive isotope will have its own unique half-life that is independent of any of these factors. Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): For cobalt-60, which has a half-life of 5.27 years, 50% remains after 5.27 years (one half-life), 25% remains after 10.54 years (two half-lives), 12.5% remains after 15.81 years (three half-lives), and so on.
The primary exposure pathways of concern are ingestion (drinking water and fish consumption), and exposure by inhalation and external exposure. PROPERTIES OF COBALT-60 (60Co) Half-Life: Physical: Biological: 5.2714 years. 0.5 day (transfer compartment), 6 days (0.6 in all tissues), 60 days.
Twenty-two radioisotopes have been characterized: the most stable, Co has a half-life of 70.86 days. All the other radioactive isotopes of cobalt have half-lives shorter than 18 hours, and in most cases shorter than 1 second. Cobalt-60 is used in radiotherapy.