• Question: Although Nuclear Powered Uranium is Radioactive, Is there a way it could be harmless to households?

    Asked by jackboothexplodes to Cesar, Emily, Jamie, Kate, Philippa on 15 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Philippa Demonte

      Philippa Demonte answered on 12 Jun 2011:

      @jackboothexplodes I do not know the exact answer to your question, so I’m going to go ask some friends.

      From my vague understanding of elements though, I believe that there is not just 1 type of uranium; some types have a shorter half-life than others and are therefore less harmful.

    • Photo: Cesar Lopez-Monsalvo

      Cesar Lopez-Monsalvo answered on 12 Jun 2011:

      I am not a nuclear expert but I found that:

      “Because uranium decays by alpha particles, external exposure to uranium is not as dangerous as exposure to other radioactive elements because the skin will block the alpha particles. Ingestion of high concentrations of uranium, however, can cause severe health effects, such as cancer of the bone or liver. Inhaling large concentrations of uranium can cause lung cancer from the exposure to alpha particles. Uranium is also a toxic chemical, meaning that ingestion of uranium can cause kidney damage from its chemical properties much sooner than its radioactive properties would cause cancers of the bone or liver.” You can read the complete version here:

      http://www.bt.cdc.gov/radiation/isotopes/uranium.asp

      So, as long as you do not breath or eat something contaminated with Uranium, its radioactive effects cannot penetrate your skin. Some other Uranium compounds, however, represent serious risks for households.

    • Photo: Kate Clancy

      Kate Clancy answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I’m going to go with Cesar’s answer on this one. I do sometimes work with radioactive compounds, but only tritium and I-125. I use these compounds as a “tracer” which helps me detect unknown quantities of hormones in saliva and urine samples, so that I can better understand the human body. Pretty different topic, eh?

    • Photo: Jamie Gallagher

      Jamie Gallagher answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      Oh dear, I’m afraid Cesar’s answer scares me a little.
      It is true that the particles don’t travel quite so far. But let’s think of it like this. Alpha radiation is like a cannon. Sure it might not travel far but it will obliterate whatever it hits. Other types of radiation can pass straight through you but might not do anything.
      So basically- yes it can be safely delt with under the right conditions but should still be treated with respect.

      Anyways, about houses. It will always be dangerous, it has to be to be useful to us. But we could think about using it of we deal with it safely.
      If we are thinking about power use in theory you could do it now. But you would need a backgarden with a huge powerstation in it. We wouldn’t want to have all the equipment in the house. Beter to stick a gigantic power station out of sight and send the power to each house.

      We already have lots of radioactive things around the house. Most things are radio active just in a tiny tiny way.

      Hope my ramblings make sence, hooray for the Physical science questions!

    • Photo: Emily Robinson

      Emily Robinson answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      I agree with Jamie… there are somethings you want in your back garden but a powerstation would probably stop you enjoying a nice BBQ.

Comments

  • Photo: Philippa

    Philippa commented on :

    I have just got a response back from a friend. He says: “I vaguely remember Professor Brian Cox saying something about firing neutrons at radioactive elements to turn them into either a more stable isotope or one with a shorter half life.” So that would make uranium less harmful, but as Jamie points out (above) there are lots of slightly radioactive things around the house.