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Tag: plutonium

Nov182019 by adminNo Comments
US asks federal judge to toss out Nevada plutonium lawsuit

US asks federal judge to toss out Nevada plutonium lawsuit

Technology
The federal government wants a judge to reject Nevada’s request for a court order to remove weapons-grade plutonium from a site north of Las VegasBy KEN RITTER Associated PressNovember 18, 2019, 9:01 PM3 min read The federal government wants a judge to reject Nevada’s request for a court order to remove weapons-grade plutonium from a site north of Las Vegas, arguing that officials have already promised that no more will be shipped to the state. In documents filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Reno, the federal government brands as “conjectural” or “hypothetical” state claims that residents are harmed by radiation from the one-half metric ton of plutonium secretly trucked a year ago from South Carolina to Nevada. The decision cannot be undone, the material is already in the state and the...
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Oct182019 by adminNo Comments
Physicists discover new stable form of plutonium

Physicists discover new stable form of plutonium

Science
Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Using the European Synchrotron, a team of physicists have identified a new stable form of plutonium. The newly discovered compound exists in a solid state and features an unexpected, pentavalent oxidation state. The discovery, detailed this week in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, was an accident. Researchers originally set out to develop improved methods for preventing nuclear meltdowns and accidents, as well as the scope of the ensuing fallout. To replicate the release and spread of radioactive nuclides into and throughout the environment -- and thus, develop preventative and control strategies -- scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf synthesized and observed the behavior of actinides, a group of metallic elements that are heavy, ra...
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