What are the risks of using iodine-131?
What are the risks of using iodine-131?
Exposure to I-131 can increase the risk of thyroid cancer. It is thought that risk is higher for people who have had multiple exposures and for people exposed at a younger age. But even among people who have documented exposures to I-131, few develop this cancer.
Why is iodine-131 so dangerous?
Ingested Iodine-131 is dangerous because it primarily affects the thyroid gland that plays a fundamental role in childhood development. Radioactive iodine toxicity varies greatly with age, with toddlers, young children and adolescents being far more sensitive than adults.
What are the benefits of iodine-131?
Summary: The benefits of I-131 remnant ablation include: [1] facilitating the interpretation of subsequent serum thyroglobulin levels, [2] increasing the sensitivity of detection of locoregional and/or metastatic disease on subsequent follow-up radioactive iodine whole-body scans, [3] maximizing the therapeutic effect …
Does radioactive iodine affect the brain?
While further study is needed, the authors suggest that the radiation from radioactive iodine therapy affect the large arteries in the neck that supply blood to the brain thus increasing the risk of a stroke.
How long does it take for iodine-131 to work?
Although the radioactivity from this treatment remains in the thyroid for some time, it is greatly diminished within a few days. The effect of this treatment on the thyroid gland usually takes between one and three months to develop, with maximum benefit occurring three to six months after treatment.
How long does it take for iodine-131 to decay?
Iodine-131 has a half-life of 8.06 days and decays by beta-particle emission to a stable 131Xe.
How long does it take for iodine 131 to work?
Why are cesium 137, Strontium 90, and iodine-131 important?
Various sources say “many” or hundreds and then refer to 131 I, 137 Cs, and 90 Sr as important products in the case of exposure. However, I cannot find any diagrams or anything that show me how uranium fuel and its products could eventually end up as one of these three.
What are the effects of exposure to cesium 137?
An error occurred while retrieving sharing information. Please try again later. Like all radionuclides, exposure to radiation from cesium-137 results in increased risk of cancer. Everyone is exposed to very small amounts of cesium-137 in soil and water as a result of atmospheric fallout.
How does iodine 131 affect the human body?
Since the body cannot distinguish iodine-131 from stable iodine, it also uses the former in the biosynthesis of these hormones. As the site of this hormone production, the thyroid gland stores these iodine-containing compounds and thus is disproportionately affected by the radiation, which is manifest in the form of thyroid cancer.
Why is cesium so dangerous to the thyroid?
It is a concern because when breathed in or ingested it may be taken up by the thyroid gland and produce significant radiation dose to the thyroid. Cesium is also volatile at elevated temperatures (temperatures higher than those at which iodine is volatile), and it may get released under accident situations.
Various sources say “many” or hundreds and then refer to 131 I, 137 Cs, and 90 Sr as important products in the case of exposure. However, I cannot find any diagrams or anything that show me how uranium fuel and its products could eventually end up as one of these three.
What are the effects of exposure to iodine 131?
This exposure put those children at risk for thyroid and parathyroid disease and cancer of the thyroid. The health care community should be able to medically evaluate the health effects resulting from past exposure to releases of I-131.
What are the dangers of exposure to cesium 137?
Based on experimentation with ionizing radiation and human epidemiology, exposure to radiation from cesium- 137 can result in malignant tumors and shortening of life.
It is a concern because when breathed in or ingested it may be taken up by the thyroid gland and produce significant radiation dose to the thyroid. Cesium is also volatile at elevated temperatures (temperatures higher than those at which iodine is volatile), and it may get released under accident situations.