Evening star., 1955-02-04
Strongest of All Metals
Moy SuppIont Rodium
Radioactive lsotope Con
Be Used to Treat Tumors
By Thomos R. Henry

The strongest of metals, hitherto es-
sentially worthless from practical
viewpoint, promises to become the new
artificial radium."
One of its highly radioactive isotopes.
quite abundant among the debris Of the
splitting of uranium atoms, proves to
be an extremely powerful emitter OF
gamma rays, the superpotent X-rays
which now are finding place in medi-
cal treatments. Chemists at the Oak
Ridge laboratory of the Atomic Energy
Commission have devised means of ex-
tracing this isotope in usable quanti-
ties.
The metal is cesium It is among
the rarest of the elements. Existence Of
the material has been known for more
than a century. but it has been largely
a physical curiosity without practical
value in its nonradioactive form.
Chemically Active.
Although the strongest of the metals,
it also is by far the most chemically
active It will combine with almost
anything in nature so. except in the
atomic DEBRIS it never is found in q
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quantities hitherto obtained have come
chiefly from rock known as pollu-
cite, of which the largest amounts are
discovered in Maine. It also exists in
minute quantities in mineral springs.
Superficially, cesium looks a good deal
like the elements potassium and rubid-
ium, to each of which it may be dis
family related. In metallic form it is
blue, and there are two very strong blue
light lines in its spectrum.
The Oak Ridge chemists have been
able to obtain two small pellets each
about the diameter of a half dollar,
half an inch thick, and weighing q
little more than an ounce.
It costs several thousand dollars to
obtain such minute amounts of cesium,
the Atomic Energy Commission reports.
But each pellet is equivalent radio
actively to more than $40 million worth
of radium, and it apparently serves the
same purpose SO far as irradiation of
tumors is concerned.
A new plant now has been approved
for construction which will be able to
turn out approximately the radium
equivalent of about So billion dollars
worth Of cesium year. Although not
entirely the equivalent of radium, this
rare element appears to be somewhat
closer to it than the more abundant
radioactive cobalt which now has
largely taken the place of radium in
hospital practice and has made radio
active treatments available to practi-
cally all cancer patients. 1t is expected,
hnunuor fhof nanciloro ~
radioactive cobalt will continue to be
supplied to hospitals and experimental
laboratories all over the world.
Strontium Produced.
The radioactive cesium pellets, ac-
cording to the Atomic Energy Commits
sion report, can be combined to pro-
vide as strong source of radiation as
is desired.
The same plant also is equipped to turn
out considerable amounts of q radio
active form of the relatively rare metal
strontium, which is valuable source
of beta, or electron beam, radiation. It
may be possible to combine the two
metals into source the properties of
which will be closer to those of radium
than is possible with either alone.
Radioactive isotopes of neither
cesium nor strontium exist, as such, in
nature but are entirely products Of
atomic fiSsion. They are recovered
from the irradiated fuel used in the Oak
Ridge atomic pile and naturally exist in
extremely minute quantities. Their ex-
traction has required development Of
new and very precise chemical tech
niques.
The extraction plant now to be built.
the Atomic Energy Commission an
nounces, may turn out to be only
pilot plant for a much larger one, II
present promises of minute amounts Of
rare elements are justified.