US nuclear relic found in bottle

[dipsydoodle]

A bottle discarded at a waste site in the US contains the oldest sample of bomb-grade plutonium made in a nuclear reactor, scientists say.

The sample dates to 1944 and is a relic from the infancy of the US nuclear weapons programme.

A team from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory used nuclear forensic techniques to date the sample and track down its origins.

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The researchers have described their study as "nuclear archaeology".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7918618.stm

[Tikki]

1. How did I know this was going to be about Hanford...even before...

I followed the link!!!!

The Hanford site is now the focus of a massive environmental cleanup effort
due to high levels of radioactive waste that remain at the site.


The bottle was held in a safe buried at a disposal site.


Tikki