How do you eliminate Cobalt-60?

Answer 1

Cobalt-60, or Co-60 (sometimes written as 60Co) is a radioactive isotope of the transition metal cobalt with a half life of 5.27 years. It cannot be "eliminated" in the conventional sense. It must be sequestered and allowed to decay to Ni-60. There are no shortcuts. It cannot be bombarded by radiation to "speed up" the process. That will only make the problem worse. Certainly since this is a "nuclear" rather than a "chemical" issue, no chemical treatment will change the physics involved. We use Co-60 as a radioactive source. It is specifically made by exposing a specifically sized "slug" or "pellet" of Co-59 to the neutron flux in a nuclear reactor. The Co-59 is activated by the neutrons and transmuted into Co-60, and the sample can be carted around in a portable (but very heavy) shielded casket. It has a little door on it that is operated by remote control, and the unit is set up so that when the door is opened, it is aimed at, say, a pipe weld. With a sealed sheet of photographic film on the other side, an X-ray can be taken of the weld. The high energy gamma rays of the decaying Co-60 expose the film after passing through the welded joint, and the film can then be read after processing - just like in a hospital. No need to drag an X-ray machine out to a job site. This is standard proceedure for X-raying welds in, like, nuclear power plants or submarines. You know, places where super high reliability is required and the extra expense is not spared to get the very best results. Co-60 is also made for medical use as a radioactive tracer and as a radiation source for treatment of disease. There are other uses for this radioactive isotope of cobalt. Need links? You got 'em. Wikipedia is a great place to start any research. Knowledge there is free.