Re: plutonium natural abundance

[Ruth Vandegrift <Ruth_Vandegrift@health.ohio.gov>]

     Please reference, "Environmental Radioactivity" by Eisenbud, p. 123, 
     states in part, "Many transuranic elements, such as plutonium, 
     neptunium and americium, which now exist because they have been 
     produced artificially (Seaborg, 1958), must have existed in nature at 
     one time, but their half-lives are so short that they disappeared long 
     ago.  However, some of the transuranic elements are produced in minute 
     amounts by naturally occurring neutrons that result in fission of 
     uranium isotopes.  Plutonium 239 has been detected in pitchblende in a 
     ratio to U 238 of 10 E -11 to 10 E -13, and Np 237 has been identified 
     in uranium minerals in a ratio to U 238 of (1.8 u 10 E -12)."
     
     R. Vandegrift
     Ohio Department of Health/Bureau of Radiation Protection
     rvandegr@health.ohio.gov


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: plutonium natural abundance
Author:  radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu at Internet
Date:    1/9/96 2:56 PM


To: RADSAFE --INTERNET radsafe@romulus.eh
     
     
So what is the natural abundance 0.005%, 0.0005% .... what???
     
Radiation Protection, Ministry of Health, British Columbia
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