Quote:
Originally Posted by Dondilion
With respect to radioactive material: The time it takes to lose half its mass due to radioactive decay.
Plutonium is deadly..is for the most part man made, did not exist in any meaningful quantity before 1944, is a by product of nuclear reaction and has many isotopes one of which has an half life of 80.8 million years. 
We really f--ked mother earth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium |
Plutonium isn't really any more dangerous than any other alpha-emitter and is considerably less dangerous (from a radiation POV) than radium (which is prevalent in the earth's crust). As an alpha-emitter, you could hold a ball of plutonium in a gloved hand (or even an ungloved hand) and not suffer any health effects. The only real negative health effects from alpha-emitters is if you ingest or breath them.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl.../etc/faqs.html