Uranium hazards

Care must be taken in handling radon, as with other radioactive materials. The main hazard is from inhalation of the element and its solid daughters which are collected on dust in the air. Good ventilation should be provided where radium, thorium, or actinium is stored to prevent build-up of the element. Radon build-up is a health consideration in uranium mines. Recently radon build-up in homes has been a concern. Many deaths from lung cancer are caused by radon exposure. In the U.S. it is recommended that remedial action be taken if the air in homes exceeds 4 pCi/1. 

Finely divided uranium metal, being pyrophoric, presents a fire hazard. 

Thorium, uranium, and plutonium are well known for their role as the basic fuels (or sources of fuel) for the release of nuclear energy (5). The importance of the remainder of the actinide group Hes at present, for the most part, in the realm of pure research, but a number of practical appHcations are also known (6). The actinides present a storage-life problem in nuclear waste disposal and consideration is being given to separation methods for their recovery prior to disposal (see Waste treati nt, hazardous waste Nuclear reactors, waste managet nt). 

Some North Dakota lignite ashes have also been observed to have above-average concentrations of uranium (21,22), lea ding to interest in processing the ash for uranium recovery. However, this ash may be classified as hazardous. 

Uranium Mill Tailings Repository, UT (ACAP project) Hazardous waste landfill Operational July 2000... 

Storage of uranium foil in closed containers in presence of air and water may produce a pyrophoric surface [1], Uranium must be machined in a fume hood because, apart from the radioactivity hazard, the swarf is easily ignited. The massive metal ignites at 600-700°C in air [2]. The finely divided reactive form of uranium produced by pyrolysis of the hydride is pyrophoric [3], while that produced as a slurry by reduction of uranium tetrachloride in dimethoxyethane by potassium-sodium alloy is not [4],... 

S. Wood and R. Mick, Age Factor in Histological Type of Lung Cancer in Uranium Miners, a Preliminary Report, in Radiation Hazards in Mining (M. Gomez, ed) pp. 675-679, Society of Mining Engineers, New York (1982). 

Hazardous Materials Table, 20 809 Dependent chemical reactions, 21 336-337 Dephlegmators, 3 54-56 10 616 Depleted uranium, 25 421 Depletion allowance, 9 539 Depletion flocculation, 10 122, 123 Depletion provisions, magnesium, 15 347 Depletion region, 14 838 23 35 width, 22 244 Depolarization, in cardiac... 

Fossil fuel electrical power plants can be more hazardous to humans than nuclear power plants because of the pollutants. A 1,000 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant releases about 100 times as much radioactivity into the environment as a comparable nuclear plant. A 1,000-MW power plant will use 2,000 railroad cars of coal or 10 supertankers of oil but only 12 cubic meters of natural uranium every year. Fossil fuel... 

Depleted uranium is composed mostly of the U-238 isotope and is considered depleted because most of its U-235 component has been removed. Natural uranium is composed of approximately 0.7% U-235 and 99.3% U-238. Depleted uranium has only about half the radioactivity of the original natural element, but radiation emanating from depleted uranium can be hazardous to human health and the environment. 

Nuclear fuel and associated waste products also include plutonium and enriched uranium (<20% U-235) and associated waste or fission products that emit intense radiation and can pose significant threats if dispersed with conventional explosives (i.e., by a dirty bomb). Industrial sources include a range of devices used in geological investigation and radiography, and may also pose significant hazards if dispersed by a dirty bomb. Examples of radioactive materials that could be used in a dirty bomb include ... 

Of the 313 samples examined, the dust explosion hazards of finely divided aluminium, aluminium-magnesium alloys, magnesium, thorium, titanium and uranium, and the hydrides of thorium and uranium, are rated highest [1]. The... 

All compounds as well as metallic uranium are radioactive—some more so than others. The main hazard from radioactive isotopes is radiation poisoning. Of course, another potential hazard is using fissionable isotopes of uranium and plutonium for other than peaceful purposes, but such purposes involve pohtical decisions, not science. 

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