Is plutonium harmful to the human body?

Nowadays, many so-called civilizations will have a great impact on our normal life. For example, some radioactive substances. Although these substances are very helpful to us in some aspects of life, they also have a great impact on our lives. For example, plutonium is such a substance. Plutonium is extremely harmful to the human body as it is highly radioactive. Let us introduce it in detail below.

Plutonium: It is a radioactive element and an important raw material in the atomic energy industry. It can be used as nuclear fuel and fission agent in nuclear weapons. The atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki used plutonium in its core. It is also the source of heat for radioisotope thermoelectric generators.

Plutonium and its isotopes are dangerous because of their radioactivity. The alpha rays produced by plutonium will not penetrate the human skin and enter the human body, but plutonium may be inhaled or digested by the human body and enter the human body, causing adverse effects on the internal organs. Alpha rays can cause damage to cells and chromosomes, which may theoretically lead to an increase in the incidence of cancer. However, this effect is no more harmful than other radioactive substances that emit alpha rays.

In comparison, plutonium has a very long half-life, which makes the amount of radiation per unit time relatively small, and the harm is also smaller. Radon, which is widely present in nature, poses much greater radioactive hazards than plutonium. Plutonium tends to accumulate in the liver and bones of humans, but the process is very slow. Plutonium is 486 million times more toxic than arsenic and is more powerful than nuclear weapons.

After reading the above introduction, now you know how harmful plutonium is to the human body. Therefore, in daily life we ​​must stay away from radioactive substances such as plutonium. This is the only way to avoid being affected by radioactive substances. It is very important to maintain good health. If you are not careful, it may be life-threatening.