#1. Give a detailed summary of the case you are investigating. (/10pts)
2. Using Table 2: Common Radioactive Isotopes, identify the radioisotope that you think the father used in the assault. Give a detailed explanation as to how you reached this conclusion. (/10pts)
3. Do you think the father is guilty? Why do you think the father acted as he did?
Table 2
Type of Source Half - life Radiation Californiam-252 Industrial 2.6 years -Used to test luggage for hidden explosives -Used to gauge moisture levels of soil for the construction industry Cesium-137 B, Y Industrial 30 years -Used in radio-tracing to identify sources of soil erosion and deposition -Used to determine if oil wells are plugged with sand Used to measure flow of fluids in pipes Medical -Used in cancer treatment Cobalt-60 B, Y Industrial 5.2 years - Used to check for cracks in pipes Medical -Used to sterilize instruments Curium-244 Industrial 18.1 years -Used in mining to analyze the materials dug from pits Iodine-131 B, Y Medical 8.0 days -Used to diagnose and treat human diseases of the thyroid Plutonium-239 O, Y Nuclear 24,110 -Used as heat source in electricity generators on years some spacecraft -Used to build thermonuclear weapons Polonium-210 OL, Y Industrial 138 days Used to reduce static electricity in an industrial setting -Used to remove dust particles for "clean" rooms Sodium-24 B, Y Industrial 15 hours Used to locate leaks in pipes Medical -Used to study electrolytes in the body Strontium-90 B Industrial 28.8 years -Used as a power source for space vehicles and remote weather stations Uranium-235 OL, Y Nuclear 704 million -Used in nuclear power plants for energy years production -Used in build thermonuclear weaponsAn Atomic Assault: Introduction A father is suspected of exposing his 11-year-old son to a radioactive material over a period of several months. The motive for the crime and type of material used are unknown. Background: Margaret and James Simonsen were married for 15 years and had 2 children together. A year after the divorce, LBV (G B E as (LT James is a petroleum engineer who works with a company that provides oil and gas logging services. James had visitation rights to his sons, 11-year-old Joseph and 8-year-old Carl, two weekends a month. In January of 2016, the Texas Department of Health received a phone call from Joseph's stepfather, Peter Tripley. Tripley reported that his stepson had been repeatedly exposed to a radioactive substance. As a result, the child developed severe skin lesions that will require multiple skin grafts to repair. Tripley named James Simonsen as the perpetrator of the assault. Visitation with the 11-year-old son was cancelled once the case was referred to law enforcement. (The younger son still has supervised visits with the father.) The District Attorney's office is in the middle of its investigation. You will help investigators at the District Attorney s office identify the radioactive substance used in the assaults. The district attorney has loaned you the file so that you can get up to speed on the The case file will have to be returned so you will need to make your own notes on the case. An Atomic Assault: Case File Timeline of assaults based on interviews with child and fa Date |11 April 2014 Joseph is left alone in his father's apartment to watch television. His father instructs him to listen to the television through headphones. The father and younger brother then leave the apartment. Later, a rash appears on Joseph's head and shoulders. Joseph's mother assumes he is sunburned. Joseph's father gives him a cup of orange juice containing a pill. Joseph falls asleep on the couch. When he wakes up, he feels something hard under the couch cushions and finds two metal cylinders in a thin sock. He feels nauseous and vomits through the morning. Joseph's father gives him a cup of orange juice containing a pill. Joseph falls asleep in the bedroom. When he wakes up, he finds the metal cylinders in his pillow. He is nauseous. He cannot find his father because his father and younger brother are asleep in another apartment. Skin sores have begun to break out on LTSRN August 2014 Joseph is left to lie on the couch while his father and brother go out. He again finds the metal cylinders under the couch cushion. The skin sores on his legs require a doctor's care. October 2014 Joseph's father gives him a cup of orange juice containing a pill. He wakes up to find a sock containing the two metal cylinders lying on his legs. His father is BT WTELTE Joseph's skin lesions grow progressively worse and do not respond to treatment. R December 2015 [BIEVS 1M Joseph 1s diagnosed with radiation necrosis by plastic surgeon. 2015 January Joseph's step-father calls Department of Health 2016 Interviews: Margaret Simonsen: We actually divorced twice. The first time it didn't take and we remarried a few months later. But it wasn't long before I knew I had made a mistake and we divorced again. Then I met Peter, and that was it. James was very helpful when Joseph first began to develop the skin lesions. He would meet me at doctor's appointment or take Joseph if Peter and I couldn't get off work. He paid for a lot of the medical bills. We went to so many doctors and no one could figure out what was wrong. I cried on his shoulder so many times. Then, when the surgeon suggested that the skin lesions were caused by radiation, something clicked in Peter's head. And when we asked Joseph if anything strange had happened at his dad's house, he started talking about the metal canisters. Then Peter made the call. Besides destroying his skin, Joseph will have to take testosterone hormones for the rest of his life because of the radiation damage to his testes. He won't be able to have kids of his own Peter Tripley: I met Margaret during her second marriage to James. We were friendly. And when they broke up again, I asked her out. The boys are both pretty easy kids. You ask them to do something, and they usually do. I'm not all that surprised Joseph didn't question his dad. James is a charming guy but extremely pass aggressive. Every compliment he gave Margaret was a veiled criticism. By the end of the marriage, she was really low on self- confidence. When I heard the last diagnosis, it occurred to me how many times Joseph had come home sick from his father's. But I don't know why James would do it. It's his kid. James Simonsen: I''m not answering these questions. This is ridiculous. Where would 1 get a radioactive substance? Why would I hurt my kid? An Atomic Assault: Case Notes Use the diagrams below to make notes on the case. After today, you will not have access to the Introduction or the Case File as it must be returned to the District Attorney's Office. Apartment map Identify the areas in the apartment Joseph was exposed and the dates of exposure. ( /Spts) Anartmant Man- An Atomic Assault: Case Notes Use the diagrams below to make notes on the case. After today, you will not have access to the Introduction or the Case File as it must be returned to the District Attorney's Office. Apartment map Identify the areas in the apartment Joseph was exposed and the dates of exposure. ( /5pts) Apartment Map: Closet Bath Dining Area Utility Bedroom Living Room Kitchen Identify the areas on Joseph's body where lesions were observed and dates of observation. ( /5pts) Body Map: April 2014 Rash on kead shoulders . July 20#4 4 Sue ypar on thighs toget 2014 Shi Sow appear on legs What are your observations so far in the case? Thoughts about how Joseph might have been exposed, interviews with parents, etc. Do you think the father is guilty? How about the brother-why was he not exposed? Observations and Questions: (/10pts) - The boy is intentionally exposed to radiation by his father. The causes mutiple sores braces on his body & couses him to vomit constantly . - The cylinders his father put under his pillows, on top his legs & on the sofa - The father having access a source of radiation. - Josephs father refuses to answer questions about his sick son & doesn't show much concern or medical attention to lis Son. James gives Joseph juice with a pill (sedative ) & boy imidiately falls asleep. Step father & Joseph's mother show more concern for Joseph. - Peter notices Joseph's physical conditions. - James seems to use Joseph in a way to make Margaret to depend on him canitionally . - James only uses one of their sons - James & his other son sleep in completely different areas . James even sleeps in the car , far away from live son. Using the highlighter, analyze the following information (/5pts) Questions to consider: Which elements would James Simonsen have had access to? How would Simonsen have considered half-life? How would Simonsen have considered safety/penetration? Type of Source Half - life Radiation Californiam-252 a Industrial 2.6 years -Used to test luggage for hidden explosives X -Used to gauge moisture levels of soil for the construction industry Cesium-137 B. Y Industrial 30 years -Used in radio-tracing to identify sources of soil erosion and deposition -Used to determine if oil wells are plugged with sand - Used to measure flow of fluids in pipesAn Atomic Assault: Case Summary I. Give a detailed summary of the case you are investigating. (/10pts) II. Using Table 2: Common Radioactive Isotopes, identify the radioisotope that you think the father used in the assault. Give a detailed explanation as to how you reached this conclusion. (/10pts) III. Do you think the father is guilty? Why do you think the father acted as he did? (/5pts) IV. How do we know how old the earth is? What sort of measuring device can determine such a thing? No device can do this, but the decay process of a naturally occurring radioisotope, U-238 gives us the answer through radiometric dating. The crater to the left is the Barrington Crater in Diablo Canyon, Arizona and it's special make up allowed C.C. Patterson to postulate that the earth is 4.55 billion years old, using the uranium- lead decay process in 1956. It was formed by a rare nickel-iron alloy meteorite that left a collection of isotopes in particular percentages created by the decay of U-238. Why a meteorite? Geological samples from earth date to the formation of earth from solar nebula. The heating. cooling, and mixing of core, mantle, and crust make a measurement impossible. But U-238 goes through 14 steps of alpha and beta decay. If you find U-238 deposits, you'll find reducing amounts of all 14 isotopes. Finding Pb-206 simply means you have the stable and ordinary form of lead, however. It does not mean that you started with U-238. Alpha Decay Alpha decay occurs, for the most part, in heavy elements. An alpha particle is a helium nucleus, with a mass of 4 amu and 2 protons. When it is ejected from the nucleus, the element transmutates into a new element, 2 steps down the periodic table. This daughter isotope is not stable either because the ratio of neutrons to protons is too high. It is also a radioisotope and may go through another alpha decay, or through a beta decay. In beta decay, a neutron in the nucleus transmutates into a new proton and ejects an electron 220 Ra called a beta particle. This causes the transmutated element to move UP the periodic table by one space and reduces the neutron to proton ratio. Many heavy nuclei, like U-238, go through a decay chain, each daughter going through an alpha or beta decay until a stable isotope is finally reached. Screenshot A particle U-238 is the source of radon in basements across the US where it occurs naturally in granite and most soils. Radon-222 collects in basements because it is significantly more dense than air. Breathing in radioactive materials is particularly damaging because a) lung tissue is very fragile a replicate more rapidly than most somatic or body cells. Damage to these cells produces tumors more quickly than in slower replicating cells. Radon is the a leading cause of lung cancer in the US, second only to cigarette smoke. The shorter a half-life is, the more damaging the radiation is. Most of the time, alpha and beta decay processes also emit gamma radiation. When you check your work by looking at the table on the back, you'll see that several radioisotopes do not emit gamma radiation in the process. 238 U He + 234 Th T 2021-2022 92 90 copy Alpha Decay 14 + 14 N Beta Decay Beginning with U-238, take each daughter isotope through the next step U-238 through alpha 238 decay U --> 92 Beta decay Beta decay Alpha decayBeginning with U-238, take each daughter isotope through the next step U-238 through alpha 238 decay U --> 92 Beta decay Beta decay Alpha decay Alpha decay -- Alpha decay -- Alpha decay --> Alpha decay --> Beta decay --> Beta decay Alpha decay --> Beta decay Beta decay Alpha decay to form Pb-206 Element Half-Life Bismuth-210 5 days Bismuth-214 19.7 minutes Lead-206 stable Lead-210 22 years Lead-214 26.8 minutes Polonium-210 140 days Polonium-214 0.00015 seconds Polonium-218 3.05 minutes Protractinium-234 1.14 minutes Radium-226 1590 years Radon-222 3.9 days Thorium-230 83,000 years Thorium-234 24.5 days Uranium-234 233,000 years Uranium-238 4,500,000,000 years Honors Only Questions: 1. What radioisotope(s) will be nearly non-existent in the final count because their half-lives are so short? 2. In a month, what isotope can you expect to have the most of if you started with 10g of U-238? 3. How long will it take for there to be only 2.5g of the original U-238 to be in the container? 4. What happenElement Half-Life Bismuth-210 5 days Bismuth-214 19.7 minutes Lead-206 stable Lead-210 22 years Lead-214 26.8 minutes Polonium-210 140 days Polonium-214 0.00015 seconds Polonium-218 3.05 minutes Protractinium-234 1.14 minutes Radium-226 1590 years Radon-222 3.9 days Thorium-230 83,000 years Thorium-234 24.5 days Uranium-234 233,000 years Uranium-238 4,500,000,000 years Honors Only Questions: 1. What radioisotope(s) will be nearly non-existent in the final count because their half-lives are so short? 2. In a month, what isotope can you expect to have the most of if you started with 10g of U-238? 3. How long will it take for there to be only 2.5g of the original U-238 to be in the container? 4. What happens to most of the Rn-222 that might collect in your basement from this process? How is this related to it's half-life? 5. In addition to all these elements(assuming there is at least a few atoms of each in the container) what other gas will you find quite a lot of in the container? Where did it come from? Exit: What isotope do you think the poisoner used
