3 ms·
Plutonium-239 [0] is the byproduct of the fission process in Uranium-235 [1], of which the fuel pellets are composed. The modern, large scale nuclear reactor w
by dtagames 4y ago
Plutonium-239 [0] is the byproduct of the fission process in Uranium-235 [1], of which the fuel pellets are composed.
The modern, large scale nuclear reactor was designed for making plutonium, not energy [2].
PU-239 has a half life (meaning it will be emit half as many radioactive particles per second) of 24,000 years. PU-239 is a gamma emitter [3], meaning its radioactive particles can slice through DNA, causing chromosomal and heritable damage.
So... it's not quite accurate to say they're "not dangerous." BTW, there is no way to "dilute" radiation, it doesn't work that way. Radiation comes from subatomic particles, not the matter they're contained in. Moving the matter (container) around doesn't "dilute" the particles, it only exposes more people to them!
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium-239 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium-239
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium-235 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium-235
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanford_Site https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanford_Site
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_ray https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_ray
- fsh 4y agoThe graphite piles in Hanford have literally nothing in common with PWRs or BWRs that are used for power generation.
- dtagames 4y agoThe only part they have in common is the idea of fissioning uranium, which results in plutonium. I was merely pointing out that, even at the origin, plutonium creation and contamination was a big problem. The Hanford Site still isn't cleaned up today!
- zackees 4y agoFYI, Plutonium is burned in the new breeder reactors. We can literally remove all the nuclear waste by building MORE nuclear reactors.