Re: Plutonium - Short Essay

[avest@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Albert Lee Vest)]

>     Plutonium 
>     
>     Short Essay by Gary Masters
...          In this (weapons) grade of        
>            plutonium the desired isotope is Pu-239. Several other isotopes 
>            are present however. In addition to the Pu-239 are Pu-238,      
>            Pu-240, Pu-241, Pu-242 and Am-241 (americium). The Am-241 is    
>            the result of the beta minus decay of Pu-241.

Would someone please tell me, or direct me to a reference, what "exactly"
(or on average) are the relative proportions of the above-mentioned Pu
isotopes in "fresh" weapons-grade Pu of a given "isotope" (per DOE
reportage) percentage?  For example, suppose a sample of fresh material was
93% "isotope" (undetermined mixture of Pu-239 and Pu-241), the remaining 7%
being Pu-240, and decay of Pu-241 may (or may not) have since had time to
significantly change those percentages, depending on how much of the
"isotope" was Pu-241.

Would those proportions be much different under different manufacturing
conditions of WGPu, or is every batch identical?

I know it's a picky point, having little to do with actual safety, but I
like to be as accurate as I can.
Albert Lee Vest           The Ohio State University
Health Physicist    Room 103 1314 Kinnear Road Bldg
(614)292-1284                     1314 Kinnear Road
avest@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu   Columbus OH 43212
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