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Uranium mining produces toxic tailings that are radioactive and may contain other toxic elements such as radon. Dust and water leaving tailing sites may carry long-lived radioactive elements that enter water sources and the soil, increase background radiation, and eventually be ingested by humans and animals. A 2013 analysis in a medical ...
Radiological and chemical toxicity of uranium combine by the fact that elements of high atomic number Z like uranium exhibit phantom or secondary radiotoxicity through absorption of natural background gamma and X-rays and re-emission of photoelectrons, which in combination with the high affinity of uranium to the phosphate moiety of DNA cause ...
Depleted uranium (DU; also referred to in the past as Q-metal, depletalloy or D-38) is uranium with a lower content of the fissile isotope 235 U than natural uranium. [2] The less radioactive and non-fissile 238 U is the main component of depleted uranium.
Xenon-135 (135 Xe) is an unstable isotope of xenon with a half-life of about 9.2 hours. 135 Xe is a fission product of uranium and it is the most powerful known neutron-absorbing nuclear poison (2 million barns; [1] up to 3 million barns [1] under reactor conditions [2]), with a significant effect on nuclear reactor operation.
In general, uranium salts exhibit nephrotoxicity. Normal commercial stocks from depleted uranium have typical specific activity 0.37–0.51 microcuries per gram (14–19 kBq/g), too weak to harm from outside the body. However, uranyl acetate is very toxic if ingested, inhaled as dust, or absorbed through cut or abraded skin. [citation needed]
Radiation poisoning, also called "radiation sickness" or a "creeping dose", is a form of damage to organ tissue due to excessive exposure to ionizing radiation. The term is generally used to refer to acute problems caused by a large dosage of radiation in a short period, though this also has occurred with long-term exposure to low-level radiation.
Uranium compounds are compounds formed by the element uranium (U). Although uranium is a radioactive actinide, its compounds are well studied due to its long half-life and its applications. It usually forms in the +4 and +6 oxidation states, although it can also form in other oxidation states.
96% of the mass is the remaining uranium: most of the original 238 U and a little 235 U. Usually 235 U would be less than 0.8% of the mass along with 0.4% 236 U. Reprocessed uranium will contain 236 U, which is not found in nature; this is one isotope that can be used as a fingerprint for spent reactor fuel.