Question

After the Fukushima Nuclear reactor disaster, people were evacuated from the affected area, but not all dogs were. People rescued and treated the dogs to help them eliminate radioactive nuclei from their bodies. The main isotope of concern was 137 Cs, which undergoes beta-minus decay with the subsequent emission of a gamma ray. Both the beta and the gamma radiation have RBE=1, and for one decay the total energy deposited in tissue is 1.2 MeV. 137 Cs has a half life of 30 years, but with treatment, this isotope had a biological half life of 38 days. For this calculation we'll consider the most affected dogs who had a activity of 95 MBq in it's 10.5 kg body and assume that all the energy in each decay was absorbed in the dogs body.

Without treatment, and thus no elimination of the nuclei form the body, what dose equivalent did the dog receive in 1 day form the 137 Cs in it's body? With treatment, what was the total activity in the dogs body after 60 days.

Answer 1