Title: Plutonium | Encyclopedia.com
Headings: Plutonium (revised)
Plutonium (revised)
PLUTONIUM (REVISED)
Overview
SYMBOL
Pu
ATOMIC NUMBER
94
ATOMIC MASS
244.0642
Discovery and naming
Physical properties
Chemical properties
Occurrence in nature
Isotopes
Extraction
Uses
Using fuel to make fuel
Compounds
Health effects
Plutonium
Plutonium
Bibliography
plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium
plutonium

Content: It is a by-product, or "waste product," of these reactors. It can be removed from the reactor, purified, and then re-used to make electrical power. Compounds
No plutonium compounds have any commercial application. Plutonium is one of the most toxic elements known. Scientists do not handle it directly. They use remote control devices and stand behind special shielding to protect themselves from the radiation produced by plutonium. Health effects
Plutonium is one of the most toxic elements known. In the body, it tends to concentrate in bones. One of its most serious health effects on a long-term basis is bone cancer. Scientists who work with plutonium do not handle the metal directly.