Uranium and plutonium metallic and fabrication and related safety

Production and utilization of plutonium has very high significance in the Indian programme due to the limited reserves of uranium ore deposits in the country. Thus the second stage in the three stage development is the key in greatly enhanced utilization of uranium resources through U-Pu breeding in fast reactor fuel cycles. Plutonium-239, a valuable energy resource has very good fission cross- section in both thermal and fast neutron spectrum. However, the reactor produced plutonium is a mixture of plutonium isotopes the relative abundance of which depends on the exposure of uranium (neutron fluence) and spectrum and their alpha and beta decay products. This mixture of the nuclides causes significant radiation field depending upon the time elapsed after separation, spontaneous fission neutron emission and also from the residual fission products giving rise to both internal and external doses to occupational workers