Plutonium isotopes have primarily been injected to the stratosphere by the atmospheric nuclear weapon tests and the burn-up of the SNAP-9A satellite. Here we show by using published data that the stratospheric plutonium exponentially decreased with apparent residence time of 1.5 ± 0.5 years, and that the temporal variations of plutonium in surface air followed the stratospheric trends until the...

PURPOSE To develop a physiologically based compartmental approach for modeling plutonium decorporation therapy with the chelating agent Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Ca-DTPA/Zn-DTPA). MATERIALS AND METHODS Model calculations were performed using the software package SAAM II (©The Epsilon Group, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA). The Luciani/Polig compartmental model with age-dependent des...

Soluble plutonium is oxidized to the Pi(VI) oxidation state by chlorine during water treatment. Under certain conditions Pi(VI) is readily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. It appears that due consideration has not been given to the effect that the presence of plutonium in this oxidation state may have on the maximum permissible concentration of plutonium in drinking water.

Chemistry and kinetics of air reactions with plutonium monoxide monohydride (PuOH) and with mixtures of the oxide hydride and plutonium metal are defined by results of pressure-volumetemperature (PVT) measurements. Tests with specimens prepared by total and partial corrosion of plutonium in 0.05 M sodium chloride solution show that reaction of residual water continues to generate H, after liqui...

Mixed oxide (MOX) nuclear fuel containing enriched uranium and isotopes of plutonium presents a challenge for monitoring occupational exposure using direct in vivo measurements because photons from U and Am will confound evaluation of plutonium in the lungs. MOX is a unique blend of enriched uranium and plutonium that can be used in place of traditional enriched uranium fuel in commercial press...

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...

Trace amounts of plutonium are found worldwide, mostly due to fallout from atmospheric nuclear testing, which ended in 1980, and released several isotopes of plutonium, including Pu, Pu, Pu, and Pu (Clark et al. 2006; DOE 2005a; Eisenbud and Gesell 1997). Plutonium is not naturally occurring; however, trace amounts of Pu are found in naturally occurring uranium ores, but the amounts are in such...

Plutonium in monthly deposition samples collected in Tsukuba (the Meteorological Research Institute), Japan from 1990 to end of 2001 is reported, together with monthly plutonium deposition in Nagasaki and Yonaguni in 2000. The annual deposition of (239,240)Pu during the period from 1990 to 2001 shows no systematic interannual variation. However, monthly (239,240)Pu depositions show a typical se...

The PUREX (Plutonium, Uranium, Reduction, EXtraction) process is the foundation of all industrial activities that involve recycling plutonium and uranium from used nuclear fuel. With over 70...

This study compares the proliferation resistance of DUPIC (Direct Use of Spent PWR Fuel in CANDU) fuel cycle with other fuel cycle cases. The other fuel cycles considered in this study are PWR of once-through mode (PWR-OT), PWR of reprocessing mode (PWR-MOX), in which spent PWR fuel is reprocessed and recovered plutonium is used for making MOX (Mixed Oxide), CANDU with once-through mode (CANDU-...