In the 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl reactor in eastern Europe, about 1 8 of the 137 Cs present in the reactor was released. The isotope 137 Cs has a half-life of 30.07 y for β decay, with the emission of a total of 1.17 MeV of energy per decay. Of this, 0.51 MeV goes to the emitted electron; the remaining 0.66 MeV goes to a γ ray. The radioactive 137 Cs is absorbed by plants, which are eaten by livestock and humans. How many 137 Cs atoms would need to be present in each kilogram of body tissue if an equivalent dose for one week is 3.5 Sv? Assume that all of the energy from the decay is deposited in 1.0 kg of tissue and that the RBE of the electrons is 1.5.

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In the 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl reactor in eastern Europe, about 1 8 of the 137 Cs present in the reactor was released. The isotope 137 Cs has a half-life of 30.07 y for β decay, with the emission of a total of 1.17 MeV of energy per decay. Of this, 0.51 MeV goes to the emitted electron; the remaining 0.66 MeV goes to a γ ray. The radioactive 137 Cs is absorbed by plants, which are eaten by livestock and humans. How many 137 Cs atoms would need to be present in each kilogram of body tissue if an equivalent dose for one week is 3.5 Sv? Assume that all of the energy from the decay is deposited in 1.0 kg of tissue and that the RBE of the electrons is 1.5.

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