Perhaps the best known case is the Goiania accident, when a radiation therapy machine from an abandoned clinic in Goiania, Brazil, was scavenged and the glowing caesium salt sold to curious buyers. Improper handling of Cs-137 sources can lead to release of the isotope and radiation contamination and injuries. Together with caesium-134, iodine-131, and strontium-90, it was among the isotopes with greatest health impact distributed by the reactor explosion. As of 2005, Cs-137 is the principal source of radiation in the zone of alienation around the Chernobyl power plant. Small amounts of Cs-134 and Cs-137 were released into the environment during nuclear weapon tests and some nuclear accidents, most notably the Chernobyl disaster. The biological half-life of caesium is short at 70 days. After entering the organism, all caesium gets more or less uniformly distributed through the body, with higher concentration in muscle tissue and lower in bones. It can be found in some moisture and density gauges, flow meters, and other sensor equipment.īiological behavior of Cs-137 is similar to potassium. Cs-137 is not widely used for industrial radiography as other isotopes offer higher gamma activities given volume. These photons can be used in food irradiation, or in radiotherapy of cancers. It can cause cancer 10, 20 or 30 years from the time of ingestion, inhalation or absorption providing sufficient material enters the body. Once released into the environment, it remains present for many years as its radiological half-life is 30.23 years. Caesium-137 is water-soluble and extremely toxic in minute amounts.
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