Idaho school can’t find small bit of weapons-grade plutonium

[Marlin]

Idaho school can’t find small bit of weapons-grade plutonium


https://apnews.com/63df894fc6c94799b944f6bf00ff056f/Idaho-school-can't-find-small-bit-of-weapons-grade-plutonium

[TVA]

All Plutonium is technically weapons grade

[Marlin]

All Plutonium is technically weapons grade

So blended reactor fuel is weapons grade plutonium? PuBe neutron sources are weapons grade plutonium? Commercial reactors produce and burn plutonium is that weapons grade plutonium?


 

[atomicarcheologist]

Well, if it's 238, it's content is 1.712000E+013pCi.

[Chimera]

The article makes it sound like they lost a source.

[Bonds 25]

"All Plutonium is technically weapons grade"

Except Pu-240 is actually a bomb poison. Plutonium is not all 239......

[atomicarcheologist]

Plutonium is not all 239......

If it's 239, then the content is 6.205000E+010pCi.

[Bonds 25]

Its a big deal to the NRC because (I'm assuming its Pu-239 since this article is more about fear mongering than giving real details) Pu-239 is Special Nuclear Material. I know first hand how serious the NRC is about SNM as we accidentally threw away an old SRM detector in an open top liner and sent it to US Ecology for burial . The detector is SNM due to small amounts of Uranium-235. 

[atomicarcheologist]

Well, it's more radioactive if it's 238. Which is why I went there. That, and that was the first isotope in the listing on RadPro Calculator. Because I figured fear mongering was an issue also.  No probs.

[GLW]

The article makes it sound like they lost a source.

"All Plutonium is technically weapons grade"

Except Pu-240 is actually a bomb poison. Plutonium is not all 239......

If it's 239, then the content is 6.205000E+010pCi.

ya know for a bunch of nukes and ex-Navy types it's almost embarrassing you guys can't remember how to do the most basic research before spouting off:

https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/event-status/event/2017/20171023en.html

[Bonds 25]

Me pointing out that all plutonium is not weapons grade and providing the reason why was spouting?

[GLW]

Me pointing out that all plutonium is not weapons grade and providing the reason why was spouting?

I'm saying it's a bunch of back and forth plus some tit for tat (this is News and Discussions not polysci or some of the other general but open range forums) instead of what, when, how bad, how not so bad, and discussion,....

which (quite literally) a mere 27 seconds of keyword google search could have educated anyone reading our forum on the facts of the event versus the edumicated, swag loaded, facts bereft, lack of heft news article,...

we're nukes, it's what we do, at least it's supposed to be what we do,...

I'm just saying,....

[Bonds 25]

Sorry for correcting TVA.....which had zero to do with the article or the lack of "basic searching". I simply could not let him go on with life believing all plutonium is "weapons grade".

[atomicarcheologist]

I'm saying it's a bunch of back and forth plus some tit for tat (this is News and Discussions not polysci or some of the other general but open range forums) instead of what, when, how bad, how not so bad, and discussion,....

which (quite literally) a mere 27 seconds of keyword google search could have educated anyone reading our forum on the facts of the event versus the edumicated, swag loaded, facts bereft, lack of heft news article,...

we're nukes, it's what we do, at least it's supposed to be what we do,...

I'm just saying,....

Chastised and chastened. A 62 mCi Pu239 source will yield1.8224391081835 mR/hr at  1".
Pu 238 is an alpha emitter, so dose is not so much a consideration.