The rate of isotope decay is very consistent, and is not effected by environmental changes like heat, temperature, and pressure. This makes radiometric dating quite reliable. Because carbon-14 decays relatively rapidly compared to other isotopes, it can only be used to date things that are less than 60,000 years old.

What are the limitations of radiometric dating?

Radiometric dating is a very useful tool, but it does have limits: The material being dated must have measurable amounts of the parent and/or the daughter isotopes. Radiometric dating can be done on only some materials. It is not useful for determining the age of sedimentary rocks.