Question

The plutonium isotope 239Pu has a half-life of 24000 years and decays by the emission of a 5.2 MeV alpha particle. Plutonium is not especially dangerous if handled because the activity is low and the alpha radiation doesn't penetrate the skin. But the tiniest speck of plutonium can cause problems if it is inhaled and lodges deep in the lungs. Explain why this happened?

Answer 1

alpha particles that have two positive charges and 4 mass units are rapidly absorbed by the air, for which in general they are not very dangerous, but if they are inhaled, in the lungs where they transform the lung tissue and the blood that passes through this point,

Step-by-step explanation:

Radiation is made up of three types of particles, alpha, beta, and gamma rays. The alpha particle are helium nuclei, the beta electron rays.

The damage they can cause is radiation due to the mutation and transformation of the tissue, for this the radiation must be in contact with the different organs, in the case of alpha particles that have two positive charges and 4 mass units are rapidly absorbed by the air, for which in general they are not very dangerous, but if they are inhaled, they can be found in the lungs where they transform the lung tissue and the blood that passes through this point, which can lead to genetic changes and destruction. of the tissue, as well as possible appearance of cancers.

For this reason, the alpha particulation is very dangerous