How many isotopes does plutonium have

However, in the case of a reprocessing where it is removed from the fuel, the residual radioactive toxicity of the waste due to minor actinides is divided by 7.

The isotope composition obviously depends on the fuel used and its degree of irradiation - the burn-up - when it is removed from the reactor. In particular, fuel including plutonium initially - such as MOX - contains more plutoniun at the end. Access to page in french. EN FR. Plutonium Isotopes Plutonium but also , , , Successive neutron captures Multiple captures of neutrons are responsible for the formation of plutonium isotopes and actinides in reactors.

This map of nuclei shows how a succession of neutron captures and beta decays generates the isotopes of plutonium. In the case of plutonium and plutonium, considerd fissile, the capture of slow neutrons triggers often a fission. Fast neutrons are able to split the other isotopes of plutonium. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, plutonium enters the bloodstream via the lungs, then moves throughout the body and into the bones, liver, and other organs.

It generally stays in those places for decades, subjecting surrounding organs and tissues to a continual bombardment of alpha radiation and greatly increasing the risk of cancer, especially lung cancer, liver cancer and bone sarcoma. There are documented cases of workers at nuclear weapons facilities dying within days of experiencing brief accidental exposure to plutonium, according to the Hazardous Substances Data Bank.

Furthermore, among all the bad things coming out of Fukushima, plutonium will stay in the environment the longest. One isotope of plutonium, Pu, has a half-life of 24, years; that's the time it will take for half of the stuff to radioactively decay.

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