REUSE DAN RECYCLE LIMBAH RADIOAKTIF COBALT-60 (KAJIAN DALAM MATA KULIAH FISIKA LINGKUNGAN DI FKIP UNIVERSITAS SRIWIJAYA)

Abstract

Waste is a problem that requires immediate handling. The use of chemical elements in life also produces waste. One element that has been widely used is cobalt. Cobalt is a silver-gray metal that is hard and shiny. The type of Cobalt that is often used is Cobalt-60 which is the result of neutron irradiation of the stable isotope Cobalt-59. Cobalt-60 has been widely used, for example in radiotherapy. However, this utilization also produces Cobalt-60 waste in solid form. This research aims to investigate what efforts can be made to treat Cobalt-60 waste resulting from radiotherapy. This research uses a literature study method from trusted reference sources. After conducting a literature review and observations from various sources, the results were obtained that Cobalt-60 waste in Indonesia can be reused for purposes in other fields. This has already been done, namely reusing Cobalt-60 resulting from radiotherapy for practical facilities and calibration facilities. Not only that, Cobalt-60 waste can also be reprocessed by the relevant institutions to reduce the amount of waste in PTLR. This has also been done, namely recycling Cobalt-60 for oil and coal logging.