Plutonium....

[Loosehead]

I watched the program about the Windscale fire the other week and one part of it made me wonder about the nature of Plutonium. Essentially one of the old guys that was there at the time was describing rummaging around in some debris looking for plutonium, the manufacture of which was the prime purpose of the reactor He said he found a piece about the size of an old 50p anyway I thought that the radiation given off by Plutonium was very dangerous if not fatal. So can one of you with more knowledge than me in this area please explain? thanks!

[kempie]

The isotopes of Plutonium produced in the Windscale piles (239, 240) being α-emitters are more dangerous to the internal organs, e.g. when small amounts are inhaled or ingested, than just being in close proximity to a larger quantity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium#Toxicit y