Skip to main content

Home/ Open Intelligence / Energy/ Group items tagged plutonium

Rss Feed Group items tagged

Filter: All | Bookmarks | Topics Simple Middle
D'coda Dcoda

The yellow powder might be plutonium [25Sep11] - 0 views

fukushima-diary.com/...llow-powder-might-be-plutonium

shared by D'coda Dcoda on 27 Sep 11 - No Cached
  • About the previous post http://fukushima-diary.com/2011/09/news-japan-after-the-typhoon/ I received a message from a reader of this blog. It was to suggest the yellow powder could be plutonium. Here is the explanation. http://sti.srs.gov/fulltext/ms2002705/ms2002705.html source for text below
  • Plutonium-239 is one of the two fissile materials used for the production of nuclear weapons and in some nuclear reactors as a source of energy. The other fissile material is uranium-235. Plutonium-239 is virtually nonexistent in nature. It is made by bombarding uranium-238 with neutrons in a nuclear reactor. Uranium-238 is present in quantity in most reactor fuel; hence plutonium-239 is continuously made in these reactors. Since plutonium-239 can itself be split by neutrons to release energy, plutonium-239 provides a portion of the energy generation in a nuclear reactor. The physical properties of plutonium metal are summarized in Table 1.
  • Only two plutonium isotopes have commercial and military applications. Plutonium-238, which is made in nuclear reactors from neptunium-237, is used to make compact thermoelectric generators; plutonium-239 is used for nuclear weapons and for energy; plutonium-241, although fissile, (see next paragraph) is impractical both as a nuclear fuel and a material for nuclear warheads. Some of the reasons are far higher cost , shorter half-life, and higher radioactivity than plutonium-239. Isotopes of plutonium with mass numbers 240 through 242 are made along with plutonium-239 in nuclear reactors, but they are contaminants with no commercial applications. In this fact sheet we focus on civilian and military plutonium (which are interchangeable in practice–see Table 5), which consist mainly of plutonium-239 mixed with varying amounts of other isotopes, notably plutonium-240, -241, and -242.
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • Plutonium belongs to the class of elements called transuranic elements whose atomic number is higher than 92, the atomic number of uranium. Essentially all transuranic materials in existence are manmade. The atomic number of plutonium is 94. Plutonium has 15 isotopes with mass numbers ranging from 232 to 246. Isotopes of the same element have the same number of protons in their nuclei but differ by the number of neutrons. Since the chemical characteristics of an element are governed by the number of protons in the nucleus, which equals the number of electrons when the atom is electrically neutral (the usual elemental form at room temperature), all isotopes have nearly the same chemical characteristics. This means that in most cases it is very difficult to separate isotopes from each other by chemical techniques.
  • Plutonium-239 and plutonium-241 are fissile materials. This means that they can be split by both slow (ideally zero-energy) and fast neutrons into two new nuclei (with the concomitant release of energy) and more neutrons. Each fission of plutonium-239 resulting from a slow neutron absorption results in the production of a little more than two neutrons on the average. If at least one of these neutrons, on average, splits another plutonium nucleus, a sustained chain reaction is achieved.
  • The even isotopes, plutonium-238, -240, and -242 are not fissile but yet are fissionable–that is, they can only be split by high energy neutrons. Generally, fissionable but non-fissile isotopes cannot sustain chain reactions; plutonium-240 is an exception to that rule. The minimum amount of material necessary to sustain a chain reaction is called the critical mass. A supercritical mass is bigger than a critical mass, and is capable of achieving a growing chain reaction where the amount of energy released increases with time.
  • The amount of material necessary to achieve a critical mass depends on the geometry and the density of the material, among other factors. The critical mass of a bare sphere of plutonium-239 metal is about 10 kilograms. It can be considerably lowered in various ways. The amount of plutonium used in fission weapons is in the 3 to 5 kilograms range. According to a recent Natural Resources Defense Council report (1), nuclear weapons with a destructive power of 1 kiloton can be built with as little as 1 kilogram of weapon grade plutonium(2). The smallest theoretical critical mass of plutonium-239 is only a few hundred grams.
  • In contrast to nuclear weapons, nuclear reactors are designed to release energy in a sustained fashion over a long period of time. This means that the chain reaction must be controlled–that is, the number of neutrons produced needs to equal the number of neutrons absorbed. This balance is achieved by ensuring that each fission produces exactly one other fission. All isotopes of plutonium are radioactive, but they have widely varying half-lives. The half-life is the time it takes for half the atoms of an element to decay. For instance, plutonium-239 has a half-life of 24, 110 years while plutonium-241 has a half-life of 14.4 years. The various isotopes also have different principal decay modes. The isotopes present in commercial or military plutonium-239 are plutonium-240, -241, and -242. Table 2 shows a summary of the radiological properties of five plutonium isotopes. The isotopes of plutonium that are relevant to the nuclear and commercial industries decay by the emission of alpha particles, beta particles, or spontaneous fission. Gamma radiation, which is penetrating electromagnetic radiation, is often associated with alpha and beta decays.
  • Table 3 describes the chemical properties of plutonium in air. These properties are important because they affect the safety of storage and of operation during processing of plutonium. The oxidation of plutonium represents a health hazard since the resulting stable compound, plutonium dioxide is in particulate form that can be easily inhaled. It tends to stay in the lungs for long periods, and is also transported to other parts of the body. Ingestion of plutonium is considerably less dangerous since very little is absorbed while the rest passes through the digestive system.
  • Plutonium-239 is formed in both civilian and military reactors from uranium-238. The subsequent absorption of a neutron by plutonium-239 results in the formation of plutonium-240. Absorption of another neutron by plutonium-240 yields plutonium-241. The higher isotopes are formed in the same way. Since plutonium-239 is the first in a string of plutonium isotopes created from uranium-238 in a reactor, the longer a sample of uranium-238 is irradiated, the greater the percentage of heavier isotopes. Plutonium must be chemically separated from the fission products and remaining uranium in the irradiated reactor fuel. This chemical separation is called reprocessing. Fuel in power reactors is irradiated for longer periods at higher power levels, called high “burn-up”, because it is fuel irradiation that generates the heat required for power production. If the goal is production of plutonium for military purposes then the “burn-up” is kept low so that the plutonium-239 produced is as pure as possible, that is, the formationo of the higher isotopes, particularly plutonium-240, is kept to a minimum. Plutonium has been classified into grades by the US DOE (Department of Energy) as shown in Table 5.
  • It is important to remember that this classification of plutonium according to grades is somewhat arbitrary. For example, although “fuel grade” and “reactor grade” are less suitable as weapons material than “weapon grade” plutonium, they can also be made into a nuclear weapon, although the yields are less predictable because of unwanted neutrons from spontaneous fission. The ability of countries to build nuclear arsenals from reactor grade plutonium is not just a theoretical construct. It is a proven fact. During a June 27, 1994 press conference, Secretary of Energy Hazel O’Leary revealed that in 1962 the United States conducted a successful test with “reactor grade” plutonium. All grades of plutonium can be used as weapons of radiological warfare which involve weapons that disperse radioactivity without a nuclear explosion.
  • Benedict, Manson, Thomas Pigford, and Hans Wolfgang Levi, Nuclear Chemical Engineering, 2d ed. (New York: McGraw Hill Book Company, 1981). Wick, OJ, Editor, Plutonium Handbook: A Guide to the Technology, vol I and II, (La Grange Park, Illinois: American Nuclear Society, 1980). Cochran, Thomas B., William M. Arkin, and Milton M. Honig, Nuclear Weapons Databook, Vol I, Natural Resources Defense Council. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Ballinger Publishing Company, 1984) Plutonium(IV) oxide is the chemical compound with the formula PuO2. This high melting point solid is a principal compound of plutonium. It can vary in color from yellow to olive green, depending on the particle size, temperature and method of production.[1]
  • D'coda Dcoda on 27 Sep 11
     
    excellent article explains plutonium
D'coda Dcoda

Three Plutonium Brothers of Japan: "They Are So Safe You Can Drink It" (Updated with Tr... - 0 views

ex-skf.blogspot.com/...um-brothers-of-japan-they.html

shared by D'coda Dcoda on 09 Aug 11 - No Cached
  • The original Japanese video was compiled by "sievert311":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppon_vEJLCQ&feature=channel_video_title "sievert311" also has a Dr. Shunichi "100 millisievert is safe" Yamashita's video in three languages (English, Spanish, French). Check it out.
  • Tokyo Brown Tabby's latest captioning is over the collection of video clips of three Japanese nuclear researchers, claiming safety for plutonium on the national TV. The first two appeared on TV after the March 11 accident to assure the public that there was nothing to worry about on plutonium, because it was so safe.
  • Three Plutonium Brothers are: (1)Tadashi Narabayashi Professor in Engineering at Hokkaido University (in TV Asahi "Sunday Scramble" on Apr. 3, 2011)
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • Transcript of the video.
  • (3)Hirotada Ohashi Professor in System Innovation University of Tokyo (at a panel discussion in Saga Pref. on Dec. 25, 2005, regarding using MOX fuel at Genkai Nuke Plant)
  • (2)Keiichi Nakagawa Associate Professor in Radiology The University of Tokyo Hospital (in Nippon TV "news every" on Mar. 29, 2011)
  • Well, half of adult males will die if they ingest 200 grams of salt. With only 200 gram. However, oral lethal dose of plutonium-239 is 32g. So, if you　compare the toxicity, plutonium, when ingested, is not very different from salt. If you inhale it into your lungs, the lethal dose will be about 10　milligram. This is about the same as potassium cyanide. That sounds scary but the point is plutonium is no different from potassium cyanide. Some toxins like botulism bacillus that causes food poisoning is much more dangerous. Dioxin is even more dangerous. So, unless you turn plutonium into powder and swallow it into your lungs.... MC: "No one would do that."
  • Besides, plutonium can be stopped by a single sheet of paper. Plutonium is made into nuclear fuels in facilities with good protective measures, so you don't need to worry.
  • For example, plutonium will not be absorbed from the skin. Sometimes you ingest it through food, but in that case, most of it will go out in urine or stools. The problem occurs when you inhale it. Inhaling plutonium is said to increase the risk of lung cancer. MC: "How will that affect our daily lives?" Nothing. MC: "Nothing?"
  • Nothing. To begin with, this material is very heavy. So, unlike iodine, it won't disperse in the air. Workers at the plant MAY be affected. So, I'd caution them to be careful. But I don't think the public should worry. For example, 50 years ago when I was born, the amount of plutonium was 1000 times higher than now. MC: "Oh, why?" Because of nuclear testing. So, even if the amount has now increased somewhat, in fact it's still much less than before. However, if it is released into the ocean through exhaust water, that's a problem. Once outside, plutonium hardly decreases.
  • MC: "It takes 24,000 years before it dicreases to half, doen't it?" That's right. So, in that sense, plutonium is problematic. But then again, there will be no effect on the public. I think you can rest easy. MC: "Let me summarize. Plutonium won't be absorbed from the skin. If it's ingested through food, it will go out of the body in urine. If it's inhaled, it may increase the risk of lung cancer. But since it's very heavy, we don't need to worry."
  • I'd like to point out two things. What happens in a [nuclear] accident depends entirely on your assumptions. If you assume everything would break and all the materials inside the reactor would be completely released into the environment, then we would get all kinds of result. But it's like discussing "what if a giant meteorite hit?" You are talking about the probability of an unlikely event. You may think it's a big problem if an accident occurs at the reactor, but the nuclear experts do not think Containment Vessels will break. But the anti-nuclear people will say, "How do you know that?" Hydrogen explosions will not occur and I agree, but their argument is "how do you know that?"
  • So, right now in the safety review, we're assuming every technically possible situation. For example, such and such parts would break, plutonium would be released like this, then it would be stopped here...something like that. We set the hurdle high and still assume even the higher-level radiation would be released and make calculations. This may be very difficult for you to understand this process, but we do. To figure out how far contamination might spread, we analyze based on our assumption of what could occur. However, the public interpret it as something that will occur. Or the anti-nuclear people take it in a wrong way and think we make such an assumption because it will happen. We can't have an argument with such people.
  • Another thing is the toxicity of plutonium. The toxicity of plutonium is very much exaggerated. Experts dealing with health damage by plutonium call this situation "social toxicity." In reality, there's nothing frightening about plutonium. If, in an extreme case, terrorists may take plutonium and throw it into a reservoir, which supplies the tap water. Then, will tens of thousands of people die? No, they won't. Not a single one will likely die. Plutonium is insoluble in water and will be expelled quickly from the body even if it's ingested with water.
  • So, what Dr. Koide is saying is if we take plutonium particles one by one, cut open your lungs and bury the plutonium particles deep in the lungs, then that many people will die. A pure fantasy that would never happen. He's basically saying we can't drive a car, we can't ride a train, because we don't know what will happen. MC: "Thank you very much."
  • See, we've been duped. Plutonium is not dangerous! We'd better ask these three to drink it up to prove it's not dangerous. Then we will feel safe, won't we? Please doctors, would you do it for us?
D'coda Dcoda

Japan radiation expert: Plutonium-238 from inside reactors went far from Fukushima afte... - 0 views

enenews.com/ns-misleading-media-stay-close

contamination

shared by D'coda Dcoda on 31 Oct 11 - No Cached
  • Mainichi has a report featuring radiochemical expert Michiaki Furukawa, professor emeritus at Nagoya University:
  • He says that some reports about plutonium have been misleading. “When the disaster first happened, there were media reports saying ‘plutonium won’t make it far because it’s a large and heavy element,’ but no one who’s done serious research in environmental radioactivity would say such a thing.” “At the very least, plutonium-238 had to have come from the explosions (at the plant). The plutonium that had heated up inside the reactors turned into fine particles when it came in contact with water, and was dispersed with the water vapor released in the explosions. Yet, Furukawa says, “Since the plutonium takes the form of particles — unlike the gaseous radioactive iodine — it probably didn’t fly 100 kilometers.”
  • Some previous reports, however, appear to refute Furakawa’s claim: Takashi: Plutonium evaporated and spread around as gas after Fukushima meltdowns "Very high concentrations" of hot particles in Pacific NW during April, May -- Includes plutonium and americium (AUDIO) Nuclear expert says Americium has been found in New England -- Element even heavier than Uranium (VIDEO) Neutron ray measured in Tokyo -- Uranium-235 found in Chiba -- Can't be detected by most geiger counters (PHOTO & VIDEO) Uranium-234 detected in Hawaii, Southern California, and Seattle Also in the Mainichi article, Hiroshi Ishihara, who heads the Medical Treatment for the High Dose Exposure Research Group at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) in Chiba, speaks about plutonium:]
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • He says that “inhaling 910 becquerels or more of plutonium-238 is believed to slightly raise the possibility of cancer.” He adds that this will equal a cumulative radiation exposure of 100 millisieverts in 50 years… just from the plutonium-238. “Even if one were to have inhaled plutonium soon after the explosions took place, it’s hard to think that the amount was enough to have any effects health-wise.” Even the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan disagrees, saying “We do not take the position that plutonium is safe in amounts up to 910 becquerels.” Read More: Unknowns about radioactive materials warrant vigilance amid delayed gov’t action
D'coda Dcoda

Plutonium brings no real chance of prosperity [05Dec11] - 0 views

mdn.mainichi.jp/...20111205p2a00m0na001000c.html

shared by D'coda Dcoda on 12 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • The Dec. 2 morning edition of the Mainichi Shimbun ran an article reporting that in 2002, the then administrative vice minister of economy, trade and industry and the chairman and president of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) were nearing an agreement to withdraw from a nuclear fuel recycling project. Nuclear fuel recycling refers to a process of treating spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power stations with chemicals and extracting reusable uranium and plutonium from it. This project has so far been unsuccessful and there are no prospects that the project will work. It was only natural that the government regulator and the power supplier were negotiating a withdrawal from the project. The negotiations came to nothing after top executives of TEPCO were forced to resign over the utility's cover-up of a series of technical problems. Nevertheless, the Mainichi report indicates that a change in Japan's nuclear power policy is not a pipe dream.
  • The country has consequently decided to bury part of its plutonium in an underground repository that is scheduled to begin operations in 2040. Even if the U.K. says it will bury only "part" of its surplus plutonium, its amount is enough to produce hundreds of atomic bombs. The amount of surplus plutonium that needs to be buried could increase as there is no prospect that the U.K. will be successful in developing technology to use plutonium-uranium MOX fuel in thermal reactors. Moreover, the U.K. will abandon its project to reprocess spent nuclear fuel over the next decade. Behind the decision is the growing awareness that plutonium offers no positives, while also being a terrible nuisance. This is the essence of the story written by Haruyuki Aikawa, a Mainichi correspondent in London.
  • The U.K. then attempted to develop technology for the use of plutonium-uranium MOX fuel in thermal reactors at nuclear power stations, a project known in Japan as "pluthermal." However, the country has been unsuccessful in producing such fuel. The same is true with Japan. Areva SA, a nuclear technology company in France, is now manufacturing plutonium-uranium MOX fuel, but questions remain as to its quality. The U.K. ended up being the world's largest holder of surplus plutonium.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • Furthermore, the Mainichi evening edition of the same day (the morning edition the following day in some areas) reported that the United Kingdom is planning to dispose of some of its surplus plutonium, which it had accumulated as a result of nuclear fuel reprocessing, in an underground repository. This news is of greater significance. Plutonium is generated as a result of burning uranium in nuclear reactors. One gram of the substance has energy equal to that in 1 kiloliter of oil. It can be used as a material for both atomic bombs and fuel for nuclear reactors. The U.K. has steadily accumulated plutonium, but failed to develop fast-breeder nuclear reactors, which had been viewed as the core of the peaceful use of such a substance.
  • there are no prospects that Japan can build a disposal facility. However, for Japan to call for operations at the Monju prototype fast-breeder nuclear reactor in Fukui Prefecture and the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in the Aomori Prefecture village of Rokkasho to be carried out as planned, would be like putting the cart before the horse as it appears the country is incapable of building a disposal facility.
  • Plutonium is directly related to security issues.
  • It is not enough for the government to talk only about the dream of "prosperity" built on dependence on nuclear power. Japan's ability to overcome the mess that follows such prosperity is now being tested
Jan Wyllie

Plutonium-239 released from Fukushima is 23,000 times higher than previously announced ... - 0 views

enformable.com/...gher-than-previously-announced

shared by Jan Wyllie on 04 Sep 11 - No Cached
  • The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA)’s daily press conference is ongoing (August 29). The NISA spokesman Moriyama mentions neptunium-239′s conversion ratio to plutonium-239 as 1 to 1. According to the June 6 estimate by the NISA: Plutonium-239: 3.2×10^9 Neptunium-239: 7.6×10^13 So, now it is: Plutonium-239: 7.6 x 10^13, or 76,000,000,000,000 or 76 terabecquerelsThe amount of plutonium-239 has increased 23,000-fold.
D'coda Dcoda

Los Alamos lab begins removing radioactive soil from canyons to prevent contamination f... - 0 views

enenews.com/amination-spreading-after-fire

nuclear energy

shared by D'coda Dcoda on 13 Jul 11 - No Cached
  • Contaminated soil a concern at Los Alamos lab, Reuters, July 11, 2011: [...] crews at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have begun removing contaminated soil from nearby canyons out of a concern that flash flooding could wash toxins into the Rio Grande [that supplies drinking water for Santa Fe and many other communities] officials said on Monday. [...] The soil in the canyons above Los Alamos National Laboratory, the linchpin of American’s nuclear weapons industry, contains materials with trace amounts of radiation [...] Over the weekend, about 1,200 cubic yards of contaminated soil was removed primarily from two canyons — Los Alamos and Pajarito — that run through lab property, [ Fred deSousa, spokesman for the lab's environmental control division] said.
  • An Assessment of Los Alamos National Laboratory Waste Disposal Inventory, Radioactive Waste Management Associates, November 2009:
  • Since the beginning of its operations LANL has disposed of millions of gallons of radioactive and hazardous waste throughout the laboratory grounds and in the canyons that surround the laboratory. [...]
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • Hundreds of stacks throughout the laboratory released unfiltered gaseous waste directly from plutonium-processing hoods. The LAHDRA Project Team has developed a system of priority indices and determined that between 1944 and 1966, plutonium was the most significant contaminant released. LAHDRA estimated that the total amount of plutonium released by LANL throughout its history, even with the improved filtering systems in later years, exceeded 170 curies. [...]
  • The waste discharge at LANL began in 1944 during the development of the atomic bomb. Due to time pressures, secrecy of the project, and general lack of knowledge at the time about the dangers of radioactive materials, the laboratory took poor precautions in its disposal of radioactive and other hazardous wastes during its early years of operations. Initially, the waste, in the form of liquids, drums and cardboard boxes, was released into the canyons or deposited into unlined pits completely untreated; poor records were maintained about the volumes and activities of these releases. By the 1960s, the waste disposal practices significantly improved and better records were kept. [...]
  • This report compiles the available information about the waste disposed of at each Material Disposal Area and into the three canyons, including any recent soil and water sampling results. Some of the sites with the highest deposits of radioactive contaminants include MDA’s C, G, and H with respective inventories of up to 49,679 curies, 1,383,700 curies, and 391 curies. Routine sampling of soil and water is regularly performed and radionuclide contamination above background levels is often found at the burial sites (e.g. TA-21). [...]
  • The potential for LANL-origin contaminants to reach the Rio Grande River may vary, depending on the underground formations and the types of waste disposed of at each disposal site. The potential may be quite large, as the 2006 Santa Fe Water Quality Report stated a “qualified detection of plutonium-238”was detected in Santa Fe drinking water supplies4. The US DOE has also reported the detection of LANL radionuclides in Santa Fe drinking water since the late 1990s5. Plutonium is the main ingredient in the core or trigger of the nuclear weapons that were developed and produced at LANL, and approximately 423,776 cubic feet (ft3) (12,000 cubic meters (m3)) of plutonium contaminated waste is buried in unlined disposal pits, trenches, and shafts at the LANL site. This early detection of plutonium in Santa Fe drinking water may be an indicator of an approaching plutonium contamination plume in Santa Fe groundwater. And of course, plutonium is only one of many LANL-origin contaminants. [...]
  • As previously discussed, information pertaining to the wastes disposed of by LANL is not always complete or fully available and so many of the types and quantities of waste disposed of at various LANL technical areas remain unknown.  [...]
  • D'coda Dcoda on 13 Jul 11
     
    Includes report about methods used by Los Alamos to store nuclear waste and risks
D'coda Dcoda

The measurement of plutonium was abandoned in Japan [02Oct11] - 0 views

fukushima-diary.com/...utonium-was-abandoned-in-japan

shared by D'coda Dcoda on 03 Oct 11 - No Cached
  • At the press conference of TEPCO and related ministries of Japanese government, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology stated they will not measure plutonium anymore. The measurement of plutonium was abandoned in Japan. It was announced on 10/3/2011 20:00 by staff from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
  • Now Japanese people are allowed to take 1~10 Bq/kg of plutonium. However, 1 in a million gram of plutonium causes cancer. They announced that plutonium and strontium were detected in 45km / 79km area on 9/30. They seem afraid of having the contamination situation known by more people. Measurement of plutonium is almost impossible for normal people with normal equipment because it only emits alpha ray. Your Geiger counter hardly catches it.
D'coda Dcoda

Nikkan SPA Magazine: Researcher Says Large Amount of Neptunium-239 Also in Date City, F... - 0 views

ex-skf.blogspot.com/...-magazine-researcher-says.html

shared by D'coda Dcoda on 14 Sep 11 - No Cached
  • It's the same researcher who said several thousand becquerels/kg of neptunium-239 was found in the soil in Iitate-mura, about 35 km northwest of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. It seems it's not just Iitate-mura that got doused with neptunium, which decays into plutonium. Date City, about 25 km northwest from Iitate-mura and 60 km from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, also got a large amount of neptunium.To recap, uranium-239, whose half life is about 24 minutes, decays into neptunium-239 with a half life of about 2.5 days, which then decays into plutonium-239 whose half life is 24,200 years.
  • Again, the reason for withholding the information is explained in the article below as "the research paper being peer-reviewed by a foreign scientific journal" - a make-or-break event, apparently, for a young researcher at a prestigious university in Japan - and as precaution against the possible Japanese government action to squash the information. The article was written by the same husband & wife comedian couple who first wrote about neptunium in Iitate-mura on their blog magazine in early August.I'm sure the nuclear experts who have appeared on TV to soothe the populace ever since the March 11 nuclear accident has the good explanation for neptunium-239 in these locations. They've kept saying "No way plutonium will be found outside the compound, because it is heavy and it doesn't fly". Oh I get it. It's plutonium they were talking about, not neptunium which decays into plutonium. My bad.From Nikkan SPA September 13 issue (part on Date City only):
  • The email began thus:
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • I heard it directly from a university researcher whose specialty is radiation measurement. Neptunium, the nuclide that decays into plutonium, flew at least to Iitate-mura and Date City in large quantity. The current survey method focuses only on gamma ray, and all it detects is radioactive cesium. The real danger is alpha-nuclides, which continues to be ignored. Iitate-mura may be being betrayed again..."The article by the comedian cum independent journalist couple continues and says this person attended a lecture given by this researcher.
  • It still doesn't make sense to me that the information already freely given at a public lecture has to be withheld because of the peer-review process, but oh well.Date City by the way has been selected by the national government to conduct "decontamination" experiments. So is Iitate-mura. They are using high-pressure spray washers to blast roofs, sidings and roads, and digging up the soil. Plutonium? What plutonium?Unlike Iitate-mura, though, almost all residents in Date City still live within the city. Even those who are ordered to move because of high radiation level in their homes have moved to temporary housing that the city has provided, within the city.
Jan Wyllie

'Untested' nuclear reactors may be used to burn up plutonium waste - Science - News - T... - 0 views

www.independent.co.uk/...p-plutonium-waste-8061660.html

shared by Jan Wyllie on 20 Aug 12 - No Cached
  • The plan envisages the construction of twin nuclear "fast reactors" at Sellafield that can dispose of the plutonium directly as fuel to generate electricity while ridding the country of a nuclear-waste headache that has dogged governments for half a century.
  • Britain's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which is in overall charge of Sellafield, requested the study last year in a remarkable U-turn in its stated policy of dealing with the 112 tonnes of civil plutonium that has accumulated as a result of the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel.
  • The American company behind the proposal, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, still has a long way to go to convince experts that it can deliver reactors that can work as promised, as well as being delivered on time and to budget.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • The company emphasised in its submission that it is based on technology that has operated successfully for 30 years in the US in an experimental facility.
  • Britain's previous attempts to convert plutonium into Mox fuel which could then be burned in conventional reactors have proved disastrous, culminating in the premature closure last year of the £1.34bn Sellafield Mox Plant, which was a commercial and technical failure. Despite the debacle over Mox fuel, however, the NDA and officials with the Department for Energy and Climate Change have advised the Government to build a second Mox fuel plant, for an estimated cost of £3bn, as a way of dealing with the plutonium problem.
  • This plan would involve the French nuclear company Areva, which is also involved in building a similar Mox operation in the US to deal with its military plutonium stockpile. However, this troubled plan is 11 years behind schedule and between six and 10 times over budget.
D'coda Dcoda

Obama's Gold - 94.6% Pure, Bomb Grade Plutonium [09Aug12] - 0 views

www.veteranstoday.com/...-6-pure-bomb-grade-plutonium-2

obama bomb grade plutonium MOX

shared by D'coda Dcoda on 10 Aug 12 - No Cached
  •  President Obama asked Duke Power Corporation in the States to test run some plutonium fuel rods (MOX) in three of their reactors. The physicists said No; but, the head boss of Duke Power said “Yes.” Obama’s test run failed miserably.
  • As a result, the country very nearly lost the state of South Carolina. Those deadly  Plutonium cores were jerked out of those three big Duke Power reactors so fast it would make your head spin. Undaunted, unbowed and too ignorant to be afraid, the President of the United  States asked the President of a Japanese utility, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO,) to run the “test” of the Plutonium fuel. Now, what are you going to do when the President of the US asks you for a favor? The test was slated immediately for the MOX fuel rods, of course. That is 21,000 lbs of 94.6% pure bomb grade Plutonium 239 (Pu 239) down blended and mixed with Uranium to form MOX 6% Pu 239 nuclear fuel rods.
  • Here’s what happened, perhaps as a result of President Obama’s political dabbling  in real life-or-death physics. This stuff gets real serious real fast.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Five hundred eighteen days into the continuous reactor meltdowns and global dispersion of reactor cores; it’s a direct choice for “Gruesome Death” made by the pro-nukers. The deed is done and cannot be reversed. MOX stands for Mixed Oxide Fuel. The very poisonous bomb grade Pu 239 is taken from Hydrogen Bombs and mixed with Uranium to form pellets for fuel rods for nuclear  reactors. The fuel rods are about five (5) meters or 16 ft long and as big around as a person’s thumb. Pu 239 is very hard for bomb makers to work with and tends to go off by itself, which makes for a really bad day. The manufacturing of Hydrogen Bombs is a very nasty business in any country. Putting extra Pu 239 in nuclear reactors to boil water for steam is insane. LETHAL DOSES How many Lethal Doses of radiation from radioactive particles are in our air just from Fukushima Daiichi’s trashed reactors? As of Jun 29, 2012 Dr. Paolo Scampa, a noted physicist stated: “… [about Fukushima reactors exploding]  … occasioning a prodigious explosion of radioactivity and radiotoxicity which over time, is several times the amount needed to kill by internal contamination the whole human race.” - Dr Paolo Scampa, PhD., Nuclear Physicist.
D'coda Dcoda

Leaked TEPCO report: 120 billion Becquerels of plutonium, 7.6 trillion Becquerels of ne... - 0 views

enenews.com/media-concealed-risk-to-public

contamination cover-up japan

shared by D'coda Dcoda on 16 Oct 11 - No Cached
  • Yokohama, Oct. 15 — Mochizuki of the Fukushima Diary website is reporting on a June 2011 document that has been “leaked on the internet” which reveals that Plutonium-238, -239, -240, and -241 were released “to the air” from Fukushima Daiichi during the first 100 hours after the earthquake. The amount of plutonium released is said to be 120 billion Becquerels. It also states there was a release of 7.6 trillion Becquerels of Neptunium-239. Mochizuki says this report was made by Tepco for a press conference on June 6 and the media knew and “kept concealing the risk for 7 months and kept people exposed”. Read More: Media knew 1.2×10^12 Bq of plutonium was released to the air in the first 100 hours
D'coda Dcoda

Plutonium has flown to west coast already [02Oct11] - 0 views

fukushima-diary.com/...as-flown-to-west-coast-already

shared by D'coda Dcoda on 03 Oct 11 - No Cached
  • In addition to the previous post, Plutonium found in 45km area.. It turned out Arnie Gundersen clearly mentioned his assumption that everyone took 5 particles into the lungs a day even in Seattle, on CNN 6/7/2011. You die of cancer only with 1 in a million grams of plutonium. Arnie Gundersen also stated probably Tokyo citizens took 10 hot particles into the lungs a day. While we were staring at the Geiger counter, we had already taken Plutonium into our lungs and are promised to die of cancer. We should have evacuated immediately after 311
  • D'coda Dcoda on 03 Oct 11
     
    video
D'coda Dcoda

Data released about plutonium found in soil outside Fukushima plant [03Oct11] - 0 views

australiancannonball.com/...n-soil-outside-fukushima-plant

shared by D'coda Dcoda on 03 Oct 11 - No Cached
  • Extract Plutonium, a highly toxic radioactive substance, found in soil in places even several dozen kilometers away from the stricken Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant had a maximum concentration equivalent to 11 and 31 percent of the levels within the premises of the plant, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said. On Friday the government released data showing varieties of plutonium were detected at six locations in Fukushima Prefecture as far as Iitate village around 45 kilometers northwest of the Fukushima complex. The government data showed the maximum concentration of plutonium 239 and plutonium 240 combined was 15 becquerels per square meter measured in the city of Minamisoma. End Extract http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20111002p2g00m0dm020000c.html
D'coda Dcoda

NISA Mentions "Neptunium-239" in August 29 Press Conference [29Aug11] - 0 views

ex-skf.blogspot.com/...um-239-in-august-29-press.html

shared by D'coda Dcoda on 30 Aug 11 - No Cached
  • UPDATE on 8/29/2011: NISA backtracked in the joint conference (TEPCO/government) in the afternoon, and now says it's not sure about the conversion rate of neptunium-239 into plutonium-239.)
  • Now this is very curious. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA)'s daily press conference is ongoing (August 29). The NISA spokesman Moriyama mentions neptunium-239's conversion ratio to plutonium-239 as 1 to 1. According to the June 6 estimate by the NISA: Plutonium-239: 3.2×10^9 Neptunium-239: 7.6×10^13
  • So, now it is: Plutonium-239: 7.6 x 10^13, or 76,000,000,000,000 or 76 terabecquerelsThe amount of plutonium-239 has increased 23,000-fold.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • On August 15 I wrote about neptunium-239, half life of about 2 days, having been detected in large quantity in Iitate-mura, 35 kilometers from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. I had to take down the second post on the subject, but the information was correct. Now, NISA is suddenly mentioning neptunium-239. Admission of wide dispersion of this nuclide and resultant plutonium-239 may be finally forthcoming, after more than 5 months.
D'coda Dcoda

TEPCO : Press Release | Detection of radioactive materials in the soil in Fukushima Dai... - 0 views

210.250.7.21/...11061105-e.html

shared by D'coda Dcoda on 04 Sep 11 - No Cached
  • As part of monitoring activity of the surrounding environment, we conducted an analysis of plutonium contained in the soil collected on March 21 and 22 at the 5 spots in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. As a result, plutonium 238, 239 and 240 were detected. (Previously announced) As a result of plutonium analysis in the soil from the samples at the 3 periodic sampling spots collected on May 26, plutonium 238 was detected as shown in the attachment 1. In addition, as a result of nuclide analysis of the gamma ray contained in the soil, radioactive materials were detected as shown in the attachment 2.
  • Since plutonium and uranium were detected from the samples at the 3 periodic sampling spots collected on April 11 and 25, we conducted americium and curium analyses. As a result, americium 241, curium 242, 243, and 244 were detected as shown in the attachment 3. Today, we informed the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and the government of Fukushima Prefecture of the results. We will continue conducting the similar analysis.
  • Attachment1: Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station: Plutonium analysis result in the soil(PDF 9.34KB) Attachment2: Result of gamma ray nuclide analysis of soil(PDF 10.9KB) Attachment3: Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station: Americium and curium analyses result in the soil(PDF 12.2KB)
D'coda Dcoda

What do you do with the waste? - Kirk Sorensen's answers [13Oct11] - 0 views

atomicinsights.com/...te-kirk-sorensens-answers.html

shared by D'coda Dcoda on 23 Oct 11 - No Cached
  • What do you do with the waste? – Kirk Sorensen’s answers by Rod Adams on October 13, 2011 in Fuel Recycling , Nuclear Batteries , Nuclear Waste , Plutonium , Thorium Share3   Gordon McDowell, the film maker who produced Thorium Remix , has released some additional mixes of material gathered for that production effort. One in particular is aimed at those people whose main concern about using nuclear energy is the often repeated question “What do you do with the waste.” Many people who ask that question think that it is a trump card that should end all conversation and let them win the hand. I used to play bridge and enjoyed it when I could “no trump” a smug contestant who thought he had a winner. Kirk’s discussion below is one example of how that can be done in the nuclear energy field . My friends who like the Integral Fast Reactor have another answer . I am pretty certain there are dozens of other good answers to the question – the primary obstacle to implementing them comes from the nefarious forces that LIKE raising (artificial) barriers to the use of nuclear energy. On another note, I want to point to a story published in the evening of October 12, 2011 on the Wall Street Journal web site titled WSJ: Fluor Buys Stake In Reactor Maker NuScale Energy . I am happy to see that NuScale has found a suitable, deep pockets investor with a lot of nuclear plant engineering and construction experience. One more short note. Jay Hancock, a writer for the Baltimore Sun, has taken note of some of the work published on Atomic Insights regarding Exelon’s decision to destroy the Zion Nuclear power station rather than allowing it to compete against existing power plants to increase the supply and decrease the price of electricity. On October 8, 2011, Hancock published a column titled State should pull plug on Constellation-Exelon deal that explored whether or not it would be beneficial for Marylanders to allow a company like Exelon to own a dominant number of electrical power generation facilities in the state. One of the pieces of evidence that has convinced Hancock to oppose the proposed merger is the way that Exelon has acted with regard to the Zion nuclear station. He recognizes that the company has adequately demonstrated a history of using market power to drive up prices and profits at the expense of customer interests. Additional reading related to Exelon bear hug attempt: EDF Asks Maryland Regulators To Block Exelon-Constellation Merger
  • What do you do with the waste? – Kirk Sorensen’s answers by Rod Adams on October 13, 2011 in Fuel Recycling, Nuclear Batteries, Nuclear Waste, Plutonium, Thorium Share3  Gordon McDowell, the film maker who produced Thorium Remix , has released some additional mixes of material gathered for that production effort. One in particular is aimed at those people whose main concern about using nuclear energy is the often repeated question “What do you do with the waste.” Many people who ask that question think that it is a trump card that should end all conversation and let them win the hand. I used to play bridge and enjoyed it when I could “no trump” a smug contestant who thought he had a winner. Kirk’s discussion below is one example of how that can be done in the nuclear energy field . My friends who like the Integral Fast Reactor have another answer. I am pretty certain there are dozens of other good answers to the question – the primary obstacle to implementing them comes from the nefarious forces that LIKE raising (artificial) barriers to the use of nuclear energy. On another note, I want to point to a story published in the evening of October 12, 2011 on the Wall Street Journal web site titled WSJ: Fluor Buys Stake In Reactor Maker NuScale Energy. I am happy to see that NuScale has found a suitable, deep pockets investor with a lot of nuclear plant engineering and construction experience. One more short note. Jay Hancock, a writer for the Baltimore Sun, has taken note of some of the work published on Atomic Insights regarding Exelon’s decision to destroy the Zion Nuclear power station rather than allowing it to compete against existing power plants to increase the supply and decrease the price of electricity. On October 8, 2011, Hancock published a column titled State should pull plug on Constellation-Exelon deal that explored whether or not it would be beneficial for Marylanders to allow a company like Exelon to own a dominant number of electrical power generation facilities in the state.
  • Gordon McDowell, the film maker who produced Thorium Remix, has released some additional mixes of material gathered for that production effort. One in particular is aimed at those people whose main concern about using nuclear energy is the often repeated question “What do you do with the waste.” Many people who ask that question think that it is a trump card that should end all conversation and let them win the hand. I used to play bridge and enjoyed it when I could “no trump” a smug contestant who thought he had a winner. Kirk’s discussion below is one example of how that can be done in the nuclear energy field
D'coda Dcoda

Takashi: Plutonium evaporated and spread around as gas after Fukushima meltdowns [27Sep11] - 0 views

enenews.com/e-evaporated-spread-around-gas

shared by D'coda Dcoda on 27 Sep 11 - No Cached
  • Cathode Long “rings of the capital of contaminated food の と の radioactivity terror”, Weekly Asahi, September 23, 2011:
  • Google Translation Meltdown temperature of the fuel in nuclear reactors in Fukushima in March, therefore, far more than 2000 ℃, had been considered from 4000 ℃ to 3000 ℃. Boiling point, 184 ℃ and iodine, 671 ℃ cesium, strontium since 1382 ℃, radioactive materials are dangerous, but far beyond the temperature was almost entirely vaporized. Even the plutonium, the boiling point is lower than 1400 ℃ 3228 ℃ than molybdenum. If so, of course, strontium and plutonium are particularly significant influence on internal exposure, and was released to the mass gasification, I believe. Translation of Asahi report via Fukushima Diary:
  • Science journalist Hirose Takashi In March, fuel rods started meltdown in the reactor.They became hot as 4000℃, which is hot enough to make most of the radioactive material evaporated. Especially plutonium and strontium were evaporated, spread around as gas. [...]
D'coda Dcoda

Background: Plutonium decay products and radioactive decay [30Sep11] - 0 views

fukushima-diary.com/...products-and-radioactive-decay

shared by D'coda Dcoda on 01 Oct 11 - No Cached
  • Someone commented on the post “Breaking News: Strontium-89, 90 in 79km area and contamination map” asking about Plutonium and Strontium and how they are related. Its a challenge to communicate basic physical chemistry to such an enormously diverse audience as visits this blog. Let me try just a bit – I may have to do a longer background piece for this soon. Bear with this quick and dirty one for now. All atoms have nuclei made of protons and neutrons (to name a few subatomic particles) – electrons orbit around the nucleus.
  • n chemistry, atoms “talk” to each other in many ways – one being the sharing or tossing back and forth of electrons. With radioactive atoms (elements or nuclides) not only are electrons on the move but also parts of the nucleus in a process called Radioactive Decay. Radioactive decay is the process by which an atomic nucleus of an unstable atom loses energy by emitting ionizing particles (ionizing radiation). The emission is spontaneous, in that the atom decays without any interaction with another particle from outside the atom. As the atoms lose bits of their nuclei they become totally new elements or new isotopes of the original element. This transformation – decay – is predictable for each radioactive element.
  • Plutonium For Plutonium it looks like this
  • D'coda Dcoda on 01 Oct 11
     
    Need to go to site for charts
1 - 20 of 120 Next › Last »
Showing 20▼ items per page