In message <199408251633.JAA16087@netcom4.netcom.com> Mike Duvos writes:
Uranium is not particularly radioactive, being a long lived alpha emitter. This is true of plutonium and some other fissionable materials as well. I can handle clad uranium or plutonium reactor or bomb components in complete safety with no protective clothing needed. The only hazard is from ingestion of the material, or from accumulation of decay products such as radon in a badly ventilated area.
Workers in nuclear fuel fabrication facilities have been known to use small disks of plutonium sintered into a ceramic base as poker chips.
Is this true? I mean, do you know it from personal experience? I was told by what I considered to be reliable sources that plutonium was extremely toxic. Upon reflection, I am sure that this is the word that was used: toxic, not radioactive. By "clad", do you mean coated in lead? -- Jim Dixon