Title: Plutonium in the environment - Wikipedia
Headings: Plutonium in the environment
Plutonium in the environment
Contents
Sources of plutonium
Plutonium production
Bomb detonations
Bomb safety trials
Space
Nuclear fuel cycle
Chernobyl
Fukushima
Nuclear crime
Environmental chemistry
Overview
Binding to soil
Microbiological chemistry
Biology
References

Content: Many atomic batteries have been of the radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) type. The Plutonium-238 used in RTGs has a half-life of 88 years, as opposed to the plutonium-239 used in nuclear weapons and reactors, which has a half-life of 24,100 years. In April 1964 a SNAP-9A failed to achieve orbit and disintegrated, dispersing roughly 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of plutonium-238 over all continents. Most plutonium fell in the southern hemisphere. Estimated 6300 GBq or 2100 man-Sv of radiation was released and led to NASA's development of solar photovoltaic energy technology. Image of (mostly) thermally isolated, RTG pellet glowing red hot because of incandescence. Chain reactions do not occur inside RTGs, so a nuclear meltdown is impossible. In fact, some RTGs are designed so that fission does not occur at all; rather, forms of radioactive decay which cannot trigger other radioactive decays are used instead. As a result, the fuel in an RTG is consumed much more slowly and much less power is produced.