Isn't cesium dangerous

[Aspirin]

I've read a lot of posts saying

 

Ohhh cesium is soooo cool let's blow something up !

 

And similar posts

And i was wondering i mean come on cesium is radioactive.

Don't you get like cancer from this.

And die a horrible death from radiation.

 

LP Aspirin

[Lance]

What isn’t radioactive or dangerous? The danger of radiation is overrated anyway. You’re ok as long as you’re not around it for long periods. That is of course unless you breathe it or swallow it and it gets stuck in your body.

[Gilded]

Dammit people! Cesium isn't necessarily radioactive. And if you haven't noticed, any element can be radioactive, depending on the isotope! I think tin has the most stable isotopes, BUT because cesium has only one, 133, (which is the only you're ever likely to see a visible amount of) it doesn't make it an element that should be discriminated... There's a whole bunch of elements out there that are waaaay more deadly than cesium. And Lance, cesium doesn't really get stuck to the body, it goes through quite quickly, and comes out with the other crap in urine. Strontium-60 and the like are the ones you should watch out for: The body thinks they're calcium or something else nice, and then they just sit in your body, irradiating your cells, for the rest of your lives (depending on the half-life of the isotope though). AND, cesium chloride is used in cancer medicine! It's a lifesaver more than a killer if you ask me.

 

Every element is sacred,

every element is good.

Every element is needed

in your neighborhood!

(Except maybe for the ones with atomic number over 98 )

[Lance]

United nuclear used to sell a uranium salt. Im not sure I would want to be around that stuff!

[5614]

cesium is just very reactive, as an alkali metal when mixed with almost anything [liquid] it will explode on it.

 

almost every element has a stable [non-radioactive] and a radioactive isotope.

 

ardiation can lead to radiation sickness and cell mutations, which could be good, but in 99% of cases is bad and possibly deadly for you.

[Gilded]

All elements with atomic number 1-82 have stable isotopes, with the exception of promethium (61) and technetium (43). I think cesium has the MOST isotopes, but as I said, only one stable. :<

 

"ardiation can lead to radiation sickness and cell mutations, which could be good, but in 99% of cases is bad and possibly deadly for you."

 

The actual radiation sickness (nausea, exhaustion) is caused by 1 Sv dose within 24h. 6 Sv is generally considered to be a deadly dose. And yes, cell mutations suck big time. As you might imagine, pregnant women aren't allowed to work with radioactive stuff.

[Gilded]

"United nuclear used to sell a uranium salt. Im not sure I would want to be around that stuff!"

 

Yeah, that stuff is not too nice. I wouldn't care to eat a reactor fuel pellet (which they also used to sell) either. It's fun how in the 50's or so people were "yay, radiation is healthy and fun" and even glazed plates with uranium dioxide. And the "revigorators"... geez. "Let's put some water in there and drink it in the morning when it's heavily radiated!"

[Lance]

Yea, those were good times. Back in the day that is.

[YT2095]

[quote name=GildedI wouldn't care to eat a reactor fuel pellet (which they also used to sell) either. It's fun how in the 50's or so people were "yay' date=' radiation is healthy and fun" and even glazed plates with uranium dioxide. And the "revigorators"... geez. "Let's put some water in there and drink it in the morning when it's heavily radiated!"[/quote]

actualy I must confess to having drunk plenty of such water as a child, my Grandmother used to have one, it was in a wire mesh gause, and kept in water over night, Radium based. we`de make Coffee with it each morning.

I wouldn`t do it NOW, but as a kid, you think it`s great, it`s some "special water" that`ll keep me fit and healthy etc...

 

 

then again, many from that generation have lived a long time! although it`s impossible to determine without asking and seperating those that Did and those that Did`nt drink any, and to see if there`s a difference in death age averages AND what percentage were Cancer based of the 2 groups.

[jdurg]

Yeah, cesium is most definitely not a radioactive element. As has been mentioned numerous times, all elements below Bismuth on the periodic table have at least one stable isotope except Technetium and Promethium. The danger with cesium is that it's so incredibly reactive and has such a low melting point. As a result of the low melting point, it will liquify almost immediately which will increase its surface area thus allowing it to react even faster. Upon exposure to air, there's a good chance that it will catch fire due to its reaction with oxygen, nitrogen, and moisture in the air. Then you have to deal with the cleanup of any CsOH which is the strongest base known to man. That stuff will eat glass and make HF look like child's play. Now rubidium is kind of interesting because one of the naturally occuring isotopes of Rb that makes up a good percentage of all naturally occuring Rb is nice and radioactive. I have a small one gram ampoule of it and I left it next to some unexposed, sealed film to see what it could do, and the film has been nice and exposed by the radiation it took in over the past couple months.

[Gilded]

Yes, Rb-87 is over 1/4 of all naturally occurring rubidium. It's half-life is almost 50 billion years, so it isn't too dangerous. It's the medium-half-lifed isotopes you should watch out for.