Plutonium Electrorefining

Plutonium problems.

Contaminants in Fish From the icy waters of Boston Harbor to the warm waves of San Diego Bay, bottomdwelling fish suffer liver damage caused by chemical contaminants, according to researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But seafood lovers need not panic, because damaged specimens were captured primarily in urban waters where commercial fishing is prohibited, said Lyn...

Toxicological Profile for Plutonium

Plutonium-Xenon systematics of Angrites

Introduction: Angrites are igneous meteorites that crystallized very early in the solar system, ~10 Ma after CAIs, as also implied by the presence of now extinct short-lived radionuclides such as Mn, Sm and Pu [1]. Fission Xe was used to calculate Pu-Xeretention ages of eucrites, relative to that of Angra dos Reis (AdoR) [2]. AdoR has an absolute Pb-Pb age of 4557.8 Ma [see 1 for ref.]. Most eu...

Lung fibrosis in plutonium workers.

There have been few systematic studies of the non-malignant health effects of alpha-particle radiation in humans. Animal studies and a report on plutonium-exposed workers from Russia suggest an association between high doses to the lung from plutonium exposure and the development of fibrotic lung disease. Prompted by a case of lung fibrosis in a retired plutonium worker, we tested the hypothesi...

Identifying the Plutonium Oxidation States

of elements to exhibit four common oxidation states: Pu(III), Pu(IV), Pu(V), and Pu(VI). In addition, plutonium complexes in aqueous solution can change their oxidation state by undergoing disproportionation or reproportionation reactions, or through radiolytic reactions. Because so many plutonium species can form and interact in solution, aqueous plutonium chemistry can be remarkably complex. ...