Radioactivity - DOE-HDBK-1145-2001

Radiological Safety Training for Plutonium Facilities

DOEHDBK11452001

Student's Guide

Gloveboxes with dry air or inert atmospheres are

still not suitable for long-term storage. Long-term

storage of Pu-239 is accomplished by placing the

metal in a sealed can, which is usually placed inside

one or more cans. As the plutonium decays, the can

may build up pressure due to accumulation of helium

from the alpha particles and from radiolysis of

impurities. The cans are monitored for "bulging" so

they can be repacked before the pressure builds up

and the cans burst. Long-term storage of plutonium

will be in cans developed by DOE for the complex.

These are called 3013 cans and are being used by five

sites at present.

Pu-238 can generate enough heat to require

handling with insulated gloves (or another insulator)

and packaging in special containers that dissipate

heat. If Pu-238 is stored next to flammable material, a

fire may result. If it is stored near material that

degrades by heat, flammable or explosive gases may

be formed.

There can be other factors that involve fires, such

as different alloys that burn or impurities that may be

pyrophoric. Highly pure plutonium metal will burn

without producing a flame.

All 15 nuclides of plutonium are radioactive and

have an atomic number of 94. This means plutonium

has 94 protons and is a transuranic element, one of

the heaviest elements known. Any element with a

higher atomic number than uranium (atomic number

92) is called a transuranic element. Physicists

continue to produce these elements, and at present

the Eighth Edition of the Table of Isotopes lists

elements through 111. In August 1999 physicists

reported production of a new element 118 (and its

daughter 116) by colliding intermediate mass ions.

Transuranic elements are usually referred to as "TRU"

elements.