Almost all human activity generates waste. We may recycle over 90% of used lead acid batteries globally, but the remaining 10% ends up as land fill somewhere. The same happens to plutonium intended to power satellite batteries and atom bombs after it ages. However we are concerned it ends up in a Nevada dumpsite just because the Silver State has fewer people living there.
State Leaders Outraged by ‘Secret Shipment’ to Nevada Dumpsite
State leaders are “outraged after learning the federal government ‘secretly shipped’ plutonium to Nevada” according to Fox 5. They say they are concerned about the danger “If something were to occur that went wrong”.
Fox 5 reports “Half a metric ton of weapons-grade plutonium was brought into Nevada behind the backs of state leaders.” The delivery to the Nevada dumpsite “happened without the knowledge of my office,” Governor Steve Sisolak said. Federal authorities transported the consignment by truck because “If an aircraft … goes down, it’d be a much larger event.”
What’s the Fuss: What’s the Big Deal about Plutonium?
Plutonium has a radioactive isotope able to break apart when struck by a slow moving neutron. This releases sufficient additional neutrons to sustain a nuclear chain reaction by splitting further nuclei.
The plutonium isotope has an 87-year half-life in its natural form. It gives off a large amount of thermal energy in the early state. Scientists use it for electrical power generation in remote, unsupported situations where it functions as a “nuclear battery”.
Plutonium has powered Cassini, Voyager, Galileo and New Horizons space probes, and also the Curiosity Mars rover. However it is highly dangerous when inhaling or ingesting large amounts. Ralph Nader famously remarked “A pound of plutonium dust spread into the atmosphere would be enough to kill 8 billion people.
Wikipedia has countered “One pound of plutonium could kill no more than 2 million people by inhalation”. Hence the decision to store it at a Nevada dumpsite where nobody has answers for what happens next.
Related
New Horizons Radioisotope Generator
The Radioisotope Batteries on Cassini Orbiter
Preview Image: Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository
