1. Benefits & Dangers of: Radioisotopes

2. Dating (not that kind) C- 14 is used to date Fossil
Living organisms incorporate C-14 into their structure, along with C-12
C-14 decays with known half-life
14C  14N + 0
comparing amounts of C-14 &
C-12 can figure how many
half-lives have gone by since
it died
Helps determine age of substance 6 7 -1

3. ROCKS U-238 decays to Pb-206 (many steps)
Over time, amount of U  and amount of Pb 
Scientists use the ratio of U-238 to Pb-206 to date rocks and figure out the age of EARTH

4. Kill bacteria and spores in food and mail
Co-60: kills bacteria in foods

5. Medical
radioisotopes with short half-lives (quickly eliminated from the body)
Tracers in medical diagnosis
Treatment of cancer
I-131: Diagnosis & treat thyroid disorders
Co-60: gamma emitter
Used to kill cancerous tumors
Tc-99: treatment of brain cancer

6. Power Plants Used as a fuel source to generate electricity
No contributions to greenhouse gases
No mercury contamination of atmosphere

7. Radiation Risks Can damage normal tissue
High doses can cause illness & death
Can cause mutations in DNA
Disposal of waste is difficult (esp. from nuclear power plants)
Storage & transportation both problematic

8. Chernobyl