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Re: Nuclear Weapons Material
In message <[email protected]> Mike Duvos writes:
> Uranium is not particularly radioactive, being a long lived alpha
> emitter. This is true of plutonium and some other fissionable
> materials as well. I can handle clad uranium or plutonium
> reactor or bomb components in complete safety with no protective
> clothing needed. The only hazard is from ingestion of the
> material, or from accumulation of decay products such as radon in
> a badly ventilated area.
>
> Workers in nuclear fuel fabrication facilities have been known to
> use small disks of plutonium sintered into a ceramic base as
> poker chips.
Is this true? I mean, do you know it from personal experience?
I was told by what I considered to be reliable sources that plutonium
was extremely toxic. Upon reflection, I am sure that this is the
word that was used: toxic, not radioactive.
By "clad", do you mean coated in lead?
--
Jim Dixon