Plutonium is the most radiotoxic radioactive element in spent fuel |
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The figure shows the relative contribution of the various constituents of spent fuel to overall radiotoxicity and the natural radioactive decay over time. With the exception of a short period of fifty years, which is still ongoing, plutonium is the most toxic. It will take 200,000 years for a spent fuel assembly to return to the same level of toxicity as the natural uranium from which it was made. |
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