Chernobyl
Out of context: Reply #34
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- Bennn2
1. Plutonium (Pu)
All the elements with an atomic number of 84 and above are radioactive. The simplest explanation for this is they are too big and unstable and breakdown giving off lethal radioactive particles as they do.
The biggest and baddest of all the naturally occurring elements is plutonium with an atomic number of 94. Unlike other naturally occurring radionuclides Pu gives off alpha, beta and gamma radiation. As well as being highly radioactive this element is also toxic like other heavy metals are.
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Inhalation is the most harmful route for plutonium exposure and one estimate suggests 500g of plutonium dust released into the air would be sufficient to kill nearly 2 million people.If this is the case it is slightly alarming that there are several tons of the stuff in the biospheres thanks to weapons testing in the 1950s and 60s!
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#In addition to these toxic qualities plutonium is also the material of choice for nuclear weapons. Consider the one kilogram of pure plutonium – this contains sufficient energy to power a major city for several hours. It is also sufficient to make a 10 kiloton explosion, i.e. the same as 10,000 tons of conventional explosives. This is about half the size of the Hiroshima bomb.