Benefits and Problems of Radioisotopes

Use available evidence to analyse benefits and problems associated with the use of radioactive isotopes in identified industries and medicine

Field	Applications and benefits	Problems
Industry	Nuclear power production – reduces dependence on other forms of power production, such as coal, which contributes more to climate change Leak detection tracing Smoke alarms Thickness gauges Building ventilation tests Irradiation of food and raw wool to destroy micro-organisms	Require nuclear reactors for production Can cause damage to healthy tissue and health problems, including cancer, if not used or stored safely Radioactive waste requires disposal
Medicine	Diagnosis/tracing and treatment of medical illnesses Medical sterilisation – prevents patient infection	(Same as for industry)

The use of nuclear power around the world (click to enlarge)

A gamma camera used in an Australian hospital