SHORT-LIVED ELEMENT

Press, Volume C, Issue 29582, 3 August 1961, Page 17

SHORT-LIVED ELEMENT

Importation From England A radioactive element with a half-life of just under 124 hours has been successfully imported from England by the isotope laboratory of the North Canterbury Hospital Board. The element, potassium-42. was for potassium absorption studies at the Full-time Medical Unit at the Princess Margaret Hospital. Although the potassium took only three days to get here, it« rate of disintegration is so great that about 500 times as much had to be sent from England as was needed in Christchurch. The quantity required was 50 microituries It was the first time that an element of such a short half-life had been brought into New Zealand. The shortest half-life erf any material previously imported to Christchurch was 64 hours. This was yttrium-90, which is used mainly for therapeutic treatments. The half-life of a radioactive materia] is the time it takes for its activity to fall to half It original value. The potassium, which was in the form of potassium carbonate, was sent direct from the British Atomic Energy Authority's atomic pile at Harwell. Most materials go first to the authority's radiochemical centre at Amer sham for purification and chemical recombination before beijg issued. The hospital board phygiciat (Mr J J, Tait) said yesterday that the success of thia venture opened the possibility of other studies which depended on elements with very short half-lives. Another which could be very useful was sodium-24. with a half-life of 14.97 hours. It was possible, however, that future imports of these materials might come from the Australian Commonwealth Atomic Energy Authority’s reactor at Lucas Heights. Sydney. He understood that negotiaticns were under way for a supply of certain radioactive materials from there.