The Total Cost of Cobalt
Most of the Cobalt mined these days comes from the mineral rich Democratic Republic of Congo. Formerly Zaire, this country is riddled with violence, civil unrest, terrorism, and corruption.
The African based mines are owned by China and produce over 70% of the world’s Cobalt under horrific conditions. Children as young as seven are known to work at depths of over two hundred feet in holes that have no safety considerations, using old pieces of discarded rebar, chiseling away in toxic conditions for as little as two dollars a day.
The Cobalt is all hand dug and the industry has been linked to human rights abuses and the extremely unsafe working conditions are inflicted upon children forced into labor for survival in an extremely poor and corrupt country.
In deep dark holes hand dug into the countryside children stay underground for days at a time, searching for the precious material in extremely hot and toxic conditions, hoping to get out alive as the landslides and collapses are becoming more abundant.
The mining is ruining the land, but moreover is destroying the lives of countless children and families. This Cobalt can affect the heart, kidneys, and liver while the dust scars the lungs of these children causing permanent damage.
Further, the Lancet produced a study in 2020 citing the increased risk of birth defects from parents working in Cobalt mines. Even going as far a suggesting the Cobalt dust has permeated the water supply that the women encounter exacerbating the situation even further.
This Cobalt is used to power phones, electric cars and unfortunately it is also used in medical devices.
Cobalt started being used in the field of Radiation Therapy in 1951, but as technology improved linear accelerators were created and shortly thereafter the first patient was treated without a live source in London in 1953, followed by a case in 1956 treated at Stanford University.
For over 70 years the use of conventional linear accelerators has become customary practice and has proven to be a safe and effective way of treating cancer, not only for the patient but the hospital staff as well. Yet some systems still use a Cobalt source to this day.
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As the industry has made significant strides towards imaging capabilities and being able to adapt to motion it almost seems unnecessary for these products to still exist.
We may never fully eliminate the need for Cobalt in our society, but shouldn’t we try to limit its use since other alternatives are available today?
Cobalt sources have a half-life of approximately five years meaning that at minimum, every five years these sources need to be replaced. Considering the bureaucratic red tape and costs to replace these sources; the environmental and other concerns with transporting it, the human costs to those forced into labor, and the advancements in Linear Accelerator technology over the last 70 years, wouldn’t you think it is about time we move towards a proven and effective way of treating patients that does not include any, even remotely perceived culpability in the horrendous destruction of families in an already hostile environment.
There have been numerous articles printed on these travesties. Included are several links you may consider to fully understand the impact the Cobalt mining industry has on human lives.
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*The statements on this site are my own and do not represent Accuray opinions or positions.
VP of Quality, Regulatory, & Compliance | Innovator of Creative and Integrated Quality, Security, & Privacy Systems | DPO | SaMD | Medical Device | Hospital Administration | Vertical Bar Enthusiast
8 个月It was 1994 when I first treated a patient with Cobalt. And even then we kind of made fun of how dated that machine was compared to linear accelerators of the time. It’s frankly crazy to me that these still exist. I remember back when I was involved in Capital equipment decisions at the hospital seeing Cobal machines still being sold on market. At the time, they were a “low-cost” solution for “emerging markets”. I always thought it was terrible economically. Total cost of ownership in most countries is quite high. It’s time for these to go IMHO.