Measuring Radioactivity Practice Problems

Which is the property measured using the unit rad?

A plant worker received 7×10⁴ mrad of gamma radiation from a nuclear power plant accident. How many millisieverts is equivalent to this dose?

While transporting, some radioisotope samples accidentally spilled. The activities of the spilled samples are 5 kBq and 11 mCi. Determine which sample generated more radiation.

Personnel 1 was exposed to a radiation dose of 20 mGy, while Personnel 2 had a radiation exposure of 3 Rad. Which personnel received less radiation?

A typical dosage of 70. µCi Ga-67/kg body weight was administered intravenously to a patient. Calculate the amount (in millicuries) of Ga-67 that must be given to a patient weighing 65.0 kg. 

A certain Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL)-based dosimeter includes filters that attenuate different parts of the radiation spectrum. There is an unfiltered area and three filtered areas containing: a plastic filter, an aluminum filter, and a copper filter. Match each of the areas or filters to its purpose in the monitoring of α, β, and γ radiation types. 

I. unfiltered area

II. plastic filter

III. aluminum & copper filters

IV. monitors exposure to β-radiation

V. monitors exposure to γ-radiation

VI. monitors exposure to α-radiation

True or false. A Geiger counter or a scintillation counter is more useful for determining the existence of a current radiation leak than a film badge since it measures a current source of radiation upon exposure, while a film badge measures radiation exposure for a pre-determined length of time.

Identify which of the following is/are the correct reason/s why rem is the preferred unit when measuring the health impacts of radiation.

I. The rem (roentgen equivalent for man) takes into account both biological effect and ionizing intensity through the equation: Rems = RBE × rads.

II. The value of rems gives the amount of tissue damage due to radiation. 

III. Rem indicates the capacity of radiation to affect matter.

IV. Rem measures equivalent doses of different types of radiation in the medical field.

V. Rem incorporates the relative biological effectiveness factor, which takes into account the different radiation types and energy differences.

Exposure to radiation ranging from 300 to 600 rem can cause hemorrhaging, vomiting, diarrhea, or eventual death in some cases. At 2.00 m, a radiation source emits a radiation intensity of 450 rem. Determine the required minimum distance from the source so that the radiation intensity does not exceed 25.0 rem, the maximum level at which no effects are detectable.

A certain radiation source produces 610 rem at 5.5 m. Calculate the intensity of the radiation at a distance of 45 m.

A person undergoing a mammogram is exposed to 0.4 mSv of radiation. Convert this to rem and determine the number of mammogram sessions a person would need to have before biological effects would be noticed. Note that biological effects are undetectable up to a 25 rem exposure.

Technetium-99m, a metastable nuclear isomer of Technetium-99, is used to detect and diagnose kidney problems. If 0.25 mL of Tc-99m with an activity of 60 mCi/mL was administered to a patient, what is the dose of the Tc-99m the patient received?

A 5.00 mL sample of radionuclide-labeled red blood cells is delivered to a patient. The initial activity of the sample is 4.6 mCi. After some time, 2.00 mL of the patient's blood was collected and found to have an activity of 1.67×10^–3 mCi. Estimate the total blood volume of the patient.