Physical Half-Life
Read the following article, and answer the questions. (Upload a file with your answers before the submission deadline.)Jorgensen, T.J. Forget Fukushima: Chernobyl still holds the record as the worst nuclear accident for public health. The Conversation on April 25, 2016. Forget Fukushima: Chernobyl still holds the record as a worst nuclear accident for public health (Links to an external site.)Question 1:There are 7 levels on the IAEA scale of nuclear accidents. List and define the criteria for each of the 7 levels of the scale, and provide one historical example of an accident for each level. Give the name, location, and date of each accident, as well as a brief description of what caused the accident. Question 2:For each of the 7 accidents you described, list the radioisotopes that were released into the environment and the physical half-lives of those radioisotopes. How important do you think a radioisotope’s physical half-life is to the long term health consequences of environmental contamination by that isotope? Explain your answer. Question 3:Of all the radioisotopes you listed in Question 2, which one would concern you the most, and which one the least. Explain your rationale.
