Which of the following options are among the main uses of cobalt 60 1 It is used for sterilization o...........

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Which of the following options are among the main uses of cobalt-60?

1. It is used for sterilization of medical equipment.

2. It is the radiation source for medical radiotherapy.

3. It is the radiation source for industrial radiography.

4. It is used as a tracer element.

Select the correct answer from the codes given below

1, 2 and 3 only

1, 2 and 4 only

2, 3 and 4 only

All of the above

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Explanation:

Cobalt-60, is a synthetic radioactive isotope of cobalt with a half-life of 5.2714 years. It is produced artificially in nuclear reactors.

The main advantage of it is that it is a high intensity gamma-ray emitter with a relatively long half-life, 5.27 years, compared to other gamma ray sources of similar intensity. The β-decay energy is low and easily shielded; however, the gamma-ray emission lines have energies around 1.3 MeV, and are highly penetrating. The main uses for Co-60 are:

• As a tracer for cobalt in chemical reactions
A radioactive tracer, or radioactive label, is a chemical compound in which one or more atoms have been replaced by a radioisotope so by virtue of its radioactive decay it can be used to explore the mechanism of chemical reactions by tracing the path that the radioisotope follows from reactants to products.
• Sterilization of medical equipment.
• Radiation source for medical radiotherapy. Cobalt therapy, using beams of gamma rays from Co-60
• teletherapy machines to treat cancer, has been widely used since the 1950s.
• Radiation source for industrial radiography.
• Radiation source for leveling devices and thickness gauges.
• Radiation source for pest insect sterilization.
• As a radiation source for food irradiation and blood irradiation.