Title: What Is Plutonium? Characteristics of This Nuclear Fuel
Headings: What Is Plutonium?
What Is Plutonium?
What Is Plutonium Used For?
Role of Plutonium in Nuclear Reactors
Where Is Plutonium Found on Earth?
How Many Neutrons Does Plutonium Have?
Management of Recovered Plutonium in Nuclear Reactors
Health Hazard
Environmental Effects
References

Content: It is formed in nuclear reactors. It is a fissile isotope but can also capture neutrons to form superior isotopes. In the field of nuclear energy, plutionio-239 is used as a nuclear fuel in the production of radioactive isotopes for research and as a fissile agent in nuclear weapons. Plutonium-238 is used in heat sources for space applications, thermoelectric heat generators and has been used in cardiac pacemakers. An important characteristic of many of the isotopes of plutonium is that they exhibit the phenomenon of spontaneous fission, in which the atomic nucleus can be divided spontaneously without the need to be bombarded by any neutron. Management of Recovered Plutonium in Nuclear Reactors
In spent fuel, between 7 and 8 kilograms per ton of unburned plutonium remain. This plutonium, recovered at reprocessing, can be used to replace uranium-235 in nuclear fuel, making mixed uranium oxide and plutonium oxide pellets, (MOX fuel). MOX fuel can replace enriched uranium fuel in light water nuclear reactors. Health Hazard
Plutonium is radioactive and toxic. But, although sometimes it has been described in the media as the most toxic substance known to humans there are substances that are much more.