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Radiological Safety Training for Plutonium Facilities
DOEHDBK11452001
Student's Guide
II. Properties of plutonium
A. Physical and chemical
Reactor-produced plutonium goes through several
different chemical processes before it becomes a solid
metal. Irradiated nuclear fuel elements are dissolved
in strong acid and the plutonium is chemically
extracted from the solution. Plutonium solutions do
not readily create airborne contamination problems,
but contamination containment is difficult because of
the corrosive nature of the solutions.
The solution is put through another processing
stage that converts it from a liquid to a powder.
Airborne contamination problems are more likely to
occur in this powered form. Because it is in a more
dispersible form, this is done inside gloveboxes.
The powder is then placed in a crucible mold and
heated without melting until it becomes a solid metal.
The metal has a bright, silver-like appearance at first,
but it oxidizes very quickly to a dull gray. It is about as
hard and brittle as gray cast iron unless it is alloyed
with other metals to make it soft and ductile. Although
it is a metal, it is not a good conductor of heat or
electricity like most other metals.
There are two difficult conditions that need to be
dealt with in the processing:
It takes tons of irradiated uranium in order to
extract grams of plutonium.
Intense radiation is present in the
production, processing, storage, and waste
handling. To protect workers, these
processes are performed within shielded
cubicles or some other shielded
containment.
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