Year 11 Preliminary Chemistry Assessment Task 1

Depth Study Assessment Written Report

Name/Class: Maanya Sehjpal
Chosen radioisotope: Plutonium 238
Explain how your chosen radioisotope is produced. Make clear reference to
how this is demonstrated in your model. (maximum 250 words)

The animation begins with a demonstration of uranium 235 being irradiated using neutron
radiation (bombardment) until it turns into Uranium 237. Uranium 237 is unstable and is
shown to undergo beta decay to turn into Neptunium 237. This is done in a cyclotron, which
produces deuterons, a deuterium nucleus containing 1 proton and 1 neutron, as
demonstrated in the model. A cyclotron then accelerates the deuterium particle by
alternating charges between its 2 electromagnets, causing a circular motion. The red
indicates a positive charge, and black indicates a negative charge. Cyclotrons are incapable
of mobilizing neutrons alone as the circular motion is caused through alternating charges,
which require the particle being accelerated to be charged. The target atoms are exposed to
these deuteron particles, causing them to become irradiated with additional neutrons,
causing them to become radioactive. In both the cases, beta decay takes place after neutron
irradiation. In the second part of the process, Neptunium 237 is irradiated to turn into
neptunium 238, which undergoes beta decay to turn into Plutonium 238. Exposure to
deuterons is controlled as much as possible in order to prevent an excess amount of
undesired isotopes. The balanced equation is shown below.
 Evaluate the effectiveness of your model in demonstrating the production of
your chosen radioisotope. (maximum 250 words)

The animation demonstrates a simplified version of 1 of the methods that can be used to
produce Plutonium 238. It provides a straightforward depiction of the complicated process.

The model is not an accurate depiction of a real cyclotron, it does not feature a magnetic
field, and inaccurately places the electromagnet. This is partly due to the limitations of an
animation, and partly to aid in providing a general idea of the production process.

Uranium 236 usually fissions into Krypton and Barium. Through a process called a
“knockout reaction” as opposed to a “capture reaction”, it is turned to uranium 237, during
which uranium oxide is exposed to neutrons until it turns to uranium 237. This detail was
simplified down to simply uranium 235 turning into uranium 237 in a cyclotron, even
though that in practice would be inaccurate.

More commonly, especially in commercial scenarios, Neptunium 237 is obtained as the

by-product of nuclear power plants. However, in order to demonstrate the process of
production in principle rather than the complex reality, a more unorthodox method had to be
depicted.

Cyclotrons aren’t the sole reactor capable of producing plutonium 238, there are many ways
of doing this, another famous example being the HFIR in America, which is a highly
advanced flux trap type reactor.

Overall, the model achieved its purpose of explaining to its viewer the basic process behind
the production of Plutonium- 238, despite the inaccuracies and its failure to encompass the
many other ways this can be done.

Predict the impacts (health, environmental or societal) that may be caused by

the process of producing your chosen radioisotope. (maximum 500 words)
452

Production of plutonium 238 effects on society-

1) Plutonium 238 is utilized predominantly in RPS systems by NASA as it produces
alpha particles. This is for a variety of reasons, but the primary advantages offered by
Plutonium- 238 are
a) Its half life is 88 years, meaning that it can produce heat used to power nasa
projects for a long period of time. This is especially important when conducting
deep space missions that cannot use solar energy. This impacts society in terms
of increasing possibilities for space exploration.
 b) Since it emits alpha particles, it requires relatively less shielding than other
alternative radioisotopes, it is safe.
c) It is insoluble, meaning that it won’t get absorbed into the body of the
spacecraft in the event of a crash.
d) Has relatively low radiation so as to not interfere with the systems of the
spacecraft or require much shielding,
e) Is stable at high temperatures
2) It has been used in the field of medicine in powering artificial cardiac pacemakers,
which is a viable power source because of its long half life and capability of producing
large amounts of power with relatively small portions of radioactive material.
Plutonium production is expensive and can only be done through particle accelerators, so it
does not have many applications.
Plutonium effects on health-
Plutonium 238, if ingested, puts the person at severe risk of cancer. Because it is an alpha
particle emitter, inhaling it can cause particles to lodge in the lungs, leading to lung scarring
and additional problems. This however can be easily prevented by taking the right
precautions during production.
Radiation from cyclotrons, or any other particle accelerator, is high. This high level of
radiation presents a health risk in the production process.
This is unlikely to occur.
Plutonium effects on the environment-
Waste generated while producing plutonium 238 and plutonium 238 itself has the potential
to contaminate surface water and soil. The effect of plutonium on food grown on
contaminated soil is negligible, but a report by NASA raises concerns about the possibility of
groundwater being affected by plutonium 238 in the soil, and drinking water by the
contaminated surface level water.
This has little to no adverse effect on the environment and ecosystems as plants are capable
of absorbing plutonium without passing on harmful amounts to the animals that consume
them.
It is very unlikely, at this stage, that plutonium 238 would leak into the environment.
The half life of plutonium 238 is 87.8 years.
This is helpful in the space applications of the radioisotope, because of the aforementioned
reasons. But this can enlarge the environmental and health risks, as the plutonium remains in
the human body or a body of water for a long period of time.

Reference list
Dr. Y 2013, Where does the plutonium come from?, Federation Of American Scientists.

Dupzyk, K 2017, How to make plutonium, Gale research complete, Hearst Magazines, a
Division of the Hearst Corporation.

Garcia, C, Cayabo, L, Artificio, T, Melendez, J, Piquero, M & Parami, V 2002,

PRODUCTION OF NEUTRONS IN PARTICLE ACCELERATORS: A PNRI SAFETY
CONCERN.

Idaho National labratory 2013, Summary of Plutonium-238 Production Alternatives

Analysis Final Report Summary of Plutonium-238 Production Alternatives Analysis Final
Report Prepared by the Plutonium-238 Production Alternatives Analysis Team.

IKEDA, N 2011, ‘The discoveries of uranium 237 and symmetric fission — From the
archival papers of Nishina and Kimura’, Proceedings of the Japan Academy, Series B,
vol. 87, no. 7, pp. 371–376.

LennTech 2019, Plutonium (Pu) - Chemical properties, Health and Environmental effects,
Lenntech.com.

NASA 2019, About Plutonium-238 | About RPS – NASA Radioisotope Power Systems,
NASA Radioisotope Power Systems.

― n.d., Draft environmental impact statement for the Mars 2020 mission.

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory n.d., Nuclear Power

Assessment Study - Final Report, NASA RPS: Radioisotope Power Systems, viewed 30
April 2023,
<https://rps.nasa.gov/resources/66/nuclear-power-assessment-study-final-report/>.

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission 2017, NRC: Backgrounder on Plutonium,

Nrc.gov.

University of Toledo n.d., Lawrencium, www.utoledo.edu.