Re:Dismantling Sellafield: the epic task of shutting down a ...
by pvaldes on Sunday December 18, 2022 @06:03AM
(#34036580)
> Any radioactive element is always radioactive.
> There are no circumstances that can influence its radioactivity
False and false. Elements are not radioactive per se. Only some isotopes of those elements are, and some are more frequent than other. Just because you have some carbon in your body does not mean that is radioactive. (In some cases metabolism even evolved to favor some kind over the other).
Time can and will influence radioactivity, so any radioactive element is -not- always radioactive. This is false.
Location is also very important. The background radioactivity of a granite mountain is not included in the body as atoms. It does not pass the outer skin barrier, that is shedding a layer of dead cells all the time in any case.
There are no circumstances that can influence its radioactivity, short of placing it inside a nuclear explosion or inside a high-energy particle accelerator.
Nevertheless, most naturally occurring radioactive elements have a radioactivity that is low enough to not pose any danger.