Plutonium - ₉₄Pu: biological information

Plutonium has no biological role.

Levels in humans

The abundances of the elements in humans.

• Human abundance by weight: (no data) ppb by weight
• Human abundance by atoms: (no data) atoms relative to C = 1000000

How much plutonium is in your body? Find out here.

You can use this form to calculate how much plutonium your body contains. Enter your weight in either kilograms or pounds and click the "Calculate" button. You must enter a number, not text! Elements for which there are no data will always give a value of zero for the weight, no matter what you put in the weight box.

Hazards and Risks

Hazards and risks associated with plutonium:

Plutonium does not occur to any significant extent in the biosphere and so normally should not present a risk. However, it is now found in small quantities in some areas within the biosphere as a result of fallout from atomic bombs and from radiation leaks from nuclear facilities. It constitutes an extreme radiation hazard when even small quantities are assembled in one place. Because of the high rate of emission of α particles and the element specifically being absorbed by bone marrow, plutonium is an extreme radiological poison which must be handled only be properly trained expert personnel using very special equipment and precautions. Such personnel and equipment exist in very few locations around the world. Permitted levels of exposure to plutonium are the lowest of any element.

References

• J.E. Huheey, E.A. Keiter, and R.L. Keiter in Inorganic Chemistry : Principles of Structure and Reactivity, 4th edition, HarperCollins, New York, USA, 1993.
• S. Budavari (Ed.) in The Merck Index, 11th ed., Merck, USA, 1989.
• N.N. Greenwood and A. Earnshaw in Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd edition, Butterworth, UK, 1997.