[en] Some comments are offered on the question of where superheavy elements, such as elements 116, 124 and 126, are likely to have been formed. Most of these elements are thought to have been produced under conditions of explosive nucleosynthesis by what is known as the 'r-process', and particularly in conventional supernova explosions, but it is stated that the ability of the r-process to produce superheavy elements is very uncertain, and the conditions necessary for synthesis of these elements are difficult to realise in astrophysical situations. It is thought that superheavy elements exist in the outer layers of neutron stars, and ideal conditions for the production of superheavy nuclei, such as high neutron flux and rapid β decays, occur in the disruption of a neutron star. Such disruption is possible in two ways, both of which involve a black hole. It is likely that a neutron star is disrupted when it accretes sufficient material for its mass to exceed the maximum mass for stability, and it then has no alternative but to collapse to form a black hole and it seems possible that some of the outer layers are thrown off during the process. It is thus argued that the most likely site for the production of superheavy elements is in the surface layers of a neutron star, and the most plausible means by which these layers can be returned to the interstellar medium involves the intervention or formation of a black hole. (U.K.)