NUCLEAR MEDICINE

This is a branch of medicine that uses radiation to provide information about the
functioning of a person's specific organs or to treat disease. In most cases, the
information is used by physicians to make a quick, accurate diagnosis of the
patient's illness. The thyroid, bones, heart, liver and many other organs can be
easily imaged, and disorders in their function revealed. In some cases, radiation can
be used to treat diseased organs, or tumors.

In developed countries (26% of world population) the frequency of diagnostic

nuclear medicine is 1.9% per year, and the frequency of therapy with radioisotopes
is about one tenth of this.

Nuclear medicine was developed in the 1950s by physicians with an endocrine

emphasis, initially using iodine-131 to diagnose and then treat thyroid disease. In
recent years specialists have also come from radiology, as dual CT/PET procedures
have become established.

Radioisotopes in Medicine
Nuclear medicine uses radiation to provide diagnostic information about the functioning of a
person's specific organs, or to treat them. Diagnostic procedures using radioisotopes are now
routine.
Radiotherapy can be used to treat some medical conditions, especially cancer, using radiation to
weaken or destroy particular targeted cells.
Over 40 million nuclear medicine procedures are performed each year, and demand for
radioisotopes is increasing at up to 5% annually.
Sterilization of medical equipment is also an important use of radioisotopes.
 There is widespread awareness of the use of radiation and radioisotopes in medicine,
particularly for diagnosis (identification) and therapy (treatment) of various medical conditions.
In developed countries (a quarter of the world population) about one person in 50 uses
diagnostic nuclear medicine each year, and the frequency of therapy with radioisotopes is about
one-tenth of this. Nuclear medicine uses radiation to provide information about the functioning
of a person's specific organs, or to treat disease. In most cases, the information is used by
physicians to make a quick diagnosis of the patient's illness. The thyroid, bones, heart, liver, and
many other organs can be easily imaged, and disorders in their function revealed. In some cases,
radiation can be used to treat diseased organs, or tumors. Five Nobel Laureates have been
closely involved with the use of radioactive tracers in medicine.

Radioisotopes in Industry

 Science and industry use radioisotopes in a variety of ways to improve productivity

and, in some cases, to gain information that cannot be obtained in any other way.
 Sealed radioactive sources are used in industrial radiography, gauging applications,
and mineral analysis.
 The attributes of naturally decaying atoms, known as radioisotopes, give rise to
their multiple applications across many aspects of modern day life (see also
information paper on The Many Uses of Nuclear Technology).

Industrial tracers

 Radioisotopes are used by manufacturers as tracers to monitor fluid flow and

filtration, detect leaks, and gauge engine wear and corrosion of process equipment.
Small concentrations of short-lived isotopes can be detected whilst no residues
remain in the environment. By adding small amounts of radioactive substances to
materials used in various processes it is possible to study the mixing and flow rates
of a wide range of materials, including liquids, powders, and gases and to locate
leaks.
 Radiotracers are used widely in industry to investigate processes and highlight the
causes of inefficiency. They are particularly useful where process optimization can
 bring material benefits, such as in the transport of sediments. Radiotracers are
also used in the oil and gas industry to help determine the extent of oil fields.

Inspection

 Radioactive materials are used to inspect metal parts and the integrity of welds
across a range of industries. Industrial gamma radiography exploits the ability of
various types of radiation to penetrate materials to different extents. Gamma
radiography works in much the same way as X-rays screen luggage at airports.
Instead of the bulky machine needed to produce X-rays, all that is needed to
produce effective gamma rays is a small pellet of radioactive material in a sealed
titanium capsule.
 The capsule is placed on one side of the object being screened, and some
photographic film is placed on the other side. The gamma rays, like X-rays, pass
through the object and create an image on the film. Just as X-rays show a break in
a bone, gamma rays show flaws in metal castings or welded joints. The technique
allows critical components to be inspected for internal defects without damage.
 X-ray sets can be used when electric power is available and the object to be
scanned can be taken to the X-ray source and radiographed. Radioisotopes have the
supreme advantage that they can be taken to the site when an examination is
required – and no power is needed. However, they cannot be simply turned off, and
so must be properly shielded both when in use and at other times.
 The process of gamma radiography, a type of non-destructive testing (NDT), is
used to validate the integrity of poured concrete and welds on fluid vessels,
pipelines, or critical structural elements. The unique characteristics of gamma
radiography have resulted in the technique becoming a crucial tool throughout many
industries. For example, to inspect new oil or gas pipelines, special film is taped over
the weld around the outside of the pipe. A machine called a 'pipe crawler' carries a
shielded radioactive source down the inside of the pipe to the position of the weld.
There, the radioactive source is remotely exposed and a radiographic image of the
weld is produced on the film. This film is later developed and examined for signs of
flaws in the weld.
 Gamma radiography has found use outside of core industrial applications, with the
technique successfully employed following the devastating earthquake in Nepal in
April 2015. NDT was used to test the integrity of critical buildingssuch as schools
and hospitals, as well as historical attractions. Both Japan and Malaysia have since
backed an IAEA initiative to use NDT for the inspection of civil structures more
widely following natural disasters.

Gauges

 Gauges containing radioactive (usually gamma) sources are in wide use in all
industries where levels of gases, liquids, and solids must be checked. The IAEA
estimates that several hundred thousand such gauges are operating in industry
worldwide. They measure the amount of radiation from a source which has been
absorbed in materials. These gauges are most useful where heat, pressure, or
corrosive substances, such as molten glass or molten metal, make it impossible or
difficult to use direct contact gauges.
Radioisotopes in Food & Agriculture

 The United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that
about 795 million people (one in nine) were suffering from chronic
undernourishment in 2014-16.
 Radioisotopes and radiation used in food and agriculture are helping to reduce these
figures.
 The attributes of naturally decaying atoms, known as radioisotopes, give rise to
their multiple applications across many aspects of modern day life (see also
information paper on The Many Uses of Nuclear Technology).

Food irradiation

 Some 25-30% of food harvested is lost as a result of spoilage before it can be

consumed. This problem is particularly prevalent in hot, humid countries.
 Food irradiation is the process of exposing foodstuffs to gamma rays to kill
bacteria that can cause food-borne disease, and to increase shelf-life. It has the
same benefits as when food is heated, refrigerated, frozen, or treated with
chemicals, but does not change the temperature or leave residues. In all parts of
the world there is growing use of irradiation technology to preserve food. More
than 60 countries worldwide have introduced regulations allowing the use of
irradiation for food products including spices, grains, fruit, vegetables, and meat. It
can replace potentially harmful chemical fumigants that are used to eliminate
insects from dried fruit and grain, legumes, and spices.
 Following three decades of testing, a worldwide standard was adopted in 1983 by a
joint committee of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In 1997 another such joint committee said there
was no need for the earlier-recommended upper limit on radiation dose to foods.
The IAEA and FAO are working together with the International Plant Protection
Convention (IPPC) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission to standardize worldwide
use of irradiation for foodstuffs.
 In addition to inhibiting spoilage, irradiation can delay ripening of fruits and
vegetables to give them greater shelf-life. Its ability to control pests and reduce
required quarantine periods has been the principal factor behind many countries
adopting food irradiation practices.
 As well as reducing spoilage after harvesting, increased use of food irradiation is
driven by concerns about food-borne diseases as well as growing international trade
in foodstuffs which must meet stringent standards of quality. On their trips into
space, astronauts eat foods preserved by irradiation.
 Whilst food irradiation has consistently been shown to be safe in clinical studies,
consumer concerns have largely limited its use to imported spices and fruits in the
USA and Europe. The relevant bodies in each jurisdiction stipulate that foods that
have undergone irradiation must be labelled accordingly.

Food irradiation applications

Low dose (up to 1 Inhibition of sprouting Potatoes, onions, garlic, ginger,

kGy) Insect and parasite yam
disinfestation Cereals, fresh fruit, dried foods
Delay ripening Fresh fruit, vegetables
Medium dose (1-10 Extend shelf-life Fish, strawberries, mushrooms
kGy) Halt spoilage, kill pathogens Seafood, poultry, meat
High dose (10-50 Industrial sterilisation Meat, poultry, seafood, prepared
kGy) Decontamination foods
Spices, etc.
Radiation is also used to sterilise food packaging. In the Netherlands, for example,
milk cartons are freed from bacteria by irradiation.
Fertilisers

 Fertilisers are expensive and if not properly used can cause water pollution.
Efficient use of fertilisers is therefore of concern to both developing and
developed countries. It is important that as much of the fertiliser as possible finds
its way into plants and that a minimum is lost to the environment. Fertilisers
'labelled' with a particular isotope, such as nitrogen-15 or phosphorus-32, provide a
means of finding out how much is taken up by the plant and how much is lost,
allowing better management of fertiliser application. Using N-15 also enables
assessment of how much nitrogen is fixed from the air by soil and by root bacteria
in legumes.

Insect control

Estimates of crop losses to insects vary, but are usually significant. Despite widespread
use of insecticides, losses are likely to be of the order of 10% globally and often notably
higher in developing countries. One approach to reducing insect depredation in agriculture
is to use genetically-modified crops, so that much less insecticide is needed. Another
approach is to disable the insects.

Increased awareness of the adverse effects of significant pesticide use on public health
and the environment has led to efforts to control insects and pests via alternative
methods. Radiation is used to control insect populations via the Sterile Insect Technique
(SIT). This involves rearing large populations of insects that are sterilised through
irradiation (gamma or X-rays), and introducing them into natural populations. The sterile
insects remain sexually competitive, but cannot produce offspring. The SIT technique is
environmentally-friendly, and has proved an effective means of pest management even
where mass application of pesticides had failed. The IPPC recognizes the benefits of SIT,
and categorizes the insects as beneficial organisms. SIT is distinct from classical
biological control (e.g.augmentation), offering a series of desirable differences:

 Introduced insects are not self-replicating, and so cannot become established in

the natural environment.
 SIT impacts only the targeted pest’s reproductive cycle, and so is species-specific.
 SIT does not involve the introduction of non-native species to an ecosystem.
o SIT was first developed in the USA and has been used successfully for more than
60 years. At present, SIT is applied across six continents. Since its introduction,
SIT has successfully controlled the populations of a number of high profile insects,
including: mosquitoes, moths, screwworm, tsetse fly, and various fruit flies
(Mediterranean fruit fly, Mexican fruit fly, oriental fruit fly, and melon fly). Three
UN organizations – IAEA, FAO, WHO – along with the governments concerned, are
promoting new SIT programs in many countries.
o SIT was used very successfully in the eradication of the screwworm in southern
USA, Mexico, and Central America and Panama. Screwworms are parasitic insects
that are potentially fatal pests to all warm-blooded animals. Females lay eggs into
soft tissues (open wounds or orifices). The larvae, when hatched, burrow through
the host flesh creating infections that attract more females.
o In 1998 screwworm was discovered in Libya. A major national and international
response utilising SIT prevented its spread to the rest of Africa and the
Mediterranean Basin. The campaign successfully eradicated the infestation.
o Major SIT operations have been conducted in Mexico, Argentina, and northern
Chile against the Medfly (Mediterranean fruit fly), and in 1981 this was declared a
complete success in Mexico. In 1994-95 eradication was achieved in two fruit-
growing areas of Argentina, and 95% success achieved in another, as well as in
Chile. The program has been extended to all of southern South America and to
Africa.
o SIT has been effective on the Medfly in southern Africa and is now being applied
to codling moths which damage citrus crops. The IAEA and FAO are assessing the
 potential of using SIT against sugarcane borers, as well as consolidating codling
moth management to support the apple and pear export industries.
o A number of the most fertile parts of Africa cannot be farmed because of the
tsetse fly, which carries the parasite trypanosome that causes African
trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) and nagana (cattle disease). According to the
IAEA, the presence of the tsetse fly prevents profitable livestock farming in
almost two-thirds of sub-Saharan Africa, resulting in economic losses of $4 billion
per year. However, SIT, in conjunction with conventional pest controls, is starting
to change all this. Zanzibar was declared tsetse-free in 1997 and Nigeria has also
benefited. With the support of the IAEA, Ethiopia has established the largest
tsetse fly mass rearing facility in the world.
o The most recent high-profile application of SIT has been in the fight against the
deadly Zika virus in Brazil and the broader Latin America and Caribbean region.

Plant mutation breeding

Plant mutation breeding is the process of exposing the seeds or cuttings of a given plant to
radiation, such as gamma rays, to cause mutations. The irradiated material is then
cultivated to generate a plantlet, which is selected and multiplied if it shows desired
traits. A process of marker-assisted selection (or molecular-marker assisted breeding) is
used to identify desirable traits more quickly based on genes. The use of radiation
essentially enhances the natural process of spontaneous genetic mutation, significantly
shortening the time it takes.

The IAEA, jointly with the FAO, assists its member states in the development and
implementation of plant mutation breeding. The technique has a number of important
advantages: it is proven, quick, cost-effective, non-hazardous, and environmentally
friendly.

Ionising radiation to induce mutations in plant breeding has been used for several decades,
and some 3200 new crop varieties have been developed in this way. Gamma or neutron
irradiation is often used in conjunction with other techniques to produce new genetic lines
of root and tuber crops, cereals, and oil seed crops. New kinds of sorghum, garlic, wheat,
bananas, beans, and peppers have been developed that are more resistant to pests and
more adaptable to harsh climatic conditions. Countries that have used plant mutation
breeding have frequently realized great socio-economic benefits:

o In Mali, irradiation of sorghum and rice seeds has produced more productive and
marketable varieties.
o In Bangladesh, new varieties of rice produced through mutation breeding have
increased crops three-fold in the last few decades. During a period of rapid
population growth, the use of nuclear techniques has enabled Bangladesh, and large
parts of Asia in general, to achieve comparative food security and improved
nutrition.
o In Namibia, mutation breeding has produced seeds of the country’s most important
crops – cowpea, sorghum, and pearl millet – that have yields increased by 10-20%.
The new varieties are more resistant to drought, temperature stress, and pests –
essential attributes in Namibia’s difficult growing environment.
o Across many IAEA member states, coffee plants are threatened by a fungal
disease known as coffee leaf rust. The IAEA, together with the FAO and the OPEC
Fund for International Development (OFID), is training scientists from the plant’s
principal growing region, South America, to implement plant mutation breeding.
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5.3 UNDERSTANDING THE USES OF RADIOISOTOPES

1. Radioisotopes are unstable isotopes which decay and give out radioactiveemissions.2.
Sodium-22, Cobalt-60 and Carbon-14 are example of radioisotopes.3. Radioisotopes have a
wide range of applications including medicine,agriculture, archaeology and industry.

Medicine

Nuclear medicine is a branch of medicine that uses radiation to provideinformation about

the function of the specific organs of a patient or totreat disease. A radioisotope is taken
in by the patient through thedigestive system, by inhalation or through the blood vessels
by injection.The radiation emitted enables organs such as the thyroid, bones, heartor liver
to be easily imaged by imaging equipment. Disorders in their function can then be
detected.

Agriculture

Radioisotopes have many uses in the field of agriculture. By measuringthe radioactivity of

the stem and leaves, scientists can find out howmuch fertiliser has been absorbed by the
plant.Radioisotopes are also used to kill pests and parasites and to controlthe ripening of
fruits.

Archaeology

The amount of carbon-14 left in a decayed plant or animal can be usedto tell its age. One
of the most important uses of radioisotopes inarchaeology is

carbon-14 dating. Carbon-14 is a radioisotope with ahalf-life of 5730 years and decays by
emitting a-

particles.