PLUTONIUM

Plutonium has 15 isotopes (same chemical properties, but different nuclear composition), of which plutonium 239 is the most important. It is produced in nuclear reactors containing the plentiful uranium isotope 239, i.e., in virtually all reactors now in operation. Uranium 238 captures neutrons released in the fission process to become U 239, and after two relatively short transmutations, it turns into plutonium, a stable fuel with a halflife of 24,000 years.

"24,000 years!" exclaim the nuclear superstition mongers in wide-eyed terror. They have never given a thought to the "halflife" of non-radioactive fuels, which is infinite, since they do not decay at all. The reason why gasoline does not last forever is that it is burned as a fuel. And the same thing is done with plutonium.

Plutonium appears in the fission products of regular reactors (not just breeders), i.e., in the fuel rods after their energy has been exhausted. By reprocessing these "wastes," plutonium can be extracted - though "waste" is a silly name for plutonium, which is valued at about $3,400 a pound. Plutonium oxide pellets are then inserted into new fuel rods together with enriched uranium pellets in a mixture that cannot possibly explode.

It is virtually impossible for a group of criminals to obtain plutonium suitable for nuclear weapons anywhere but at the reprocessing plant, the only time it is outside the fuel rods. As in all other aspects of nuclear power, the danger is highly concentrated, and therefore much more easily contained than for any other terrorist threat, not excluding theft of readymade nuclear weapons from the military.

"But plutonium is the most toxic substance known to man," say the Naderite crusaders.

Bunk. Of course plutonium is dangerous, but it is not, by any criterion, the most toxic. All the heavy metals are toxic, and eleven of them are more toxic than plutonium. As for radioactivity, it emits primarily alpha particles, which have only very small penetrating power (an inch or two in air); most other radioactive materials emit gamma rays, which require several feet of earth and concrete as protection. For the alpha radiation of plutonium, a newspaper is sufficient to act as a shield. Plutonium is therefore dangerous only if it gets into the body by breathing it, eating it or absorbing it through the skin, and it is handled far more easily than many other radioactive materials.

Even so, if a soluble salt of plutonium 239 is injected intravenously, then by molecule per unit body weight, it is only four trillionths as lethal as tetanus toxin and about 10-millionths as lethal as diptheria toxin.

Many other comparisons have been made, and plutonium never turned out the most toxic by volume, weight, radiation level or any other criterion.

But why compare by weight and volume? Plutonium is, above all, a source of energy, and when compared on the basis of energy contents, Prof. Clack found a substance far more deadly than plutonium: gasoline.

In any case, the record speaks for itself. Tons and tons of plutonium have been handled in the last 30 years, yet there has been no loss of life due to plutonium-related health problems. This is particularly remarkable in view of the fact that during the emergency conditions of the early nuclear weapons industry in World War II, plutonium exposures far exceeded the maximum levels permissible today. Yet of the 17,000 plutonium workers, including those engaged in the Manhattan Project of World War II, none have died of plutonium related causes.

Plutonium, then, is not the most toxic, nor the most radioactive, nor the most dangerous substance in the world. But if you must have a superlative, here is one: Of all the world's present fuels, plutonium contains the most energy per unit weight or volume; and that makes it one of the most wonderful substances ever discovered by man.

[On this and related subjects, we highly recommend a recent 64-page document Comments on the "Statement by R. Nader on the plutonium breeder reactor program before the JEC, US Congress, May 8, 1975" obtainable (free) from Westinghouse Electric, Box 158, Madison, PA 15663.]