Should we begin to manufacture one of the most destructive and infamous substances on the face of the Earth once again? The engineers say yes, but the public says no. The United States stopped making this element with the ban on manufacturing nuclear weapons. But with the continuing problem with our ever-diminishing energy sources, some want us to begin using more nuclear energy and less energy from natural resources. I'm going to discuss what plutonium is, the advantages and disadvantages of its use, and why we should think about restarting our production of this useful element.

After the United States dropped "Fat Man" and "Little Boy" on Japan ending World War II, the public has had some type of understanding about the power of plutonium and its devastating properties, but that is all anyone heard.

After WWII, Americans started to think about what the atomic bomb could do to the U.S. and its people. When anyone mentioned plutonium or the word "nuclear" the idea of Hiroshima or Nagasaki being destroyed was the first thing people thought about. No one could even ponder the idea that it could be used for other more constructive things like sources of energy or to kept

After learning about what radon gas can do to humans, shouldn't we be more concerned about what a naturally occurring substance can do rather than worrying about what plutonium, and its rare contamination might do. Also, how many American citizens will actually have a chance to come in contact with any plutonium isotope in their lifetime?

In 1986, a reactor located in Russia at the Chernobyl power plant had a meltdown and radiation escaped from the plant. Several dozen died from this incident. Nuclear explosions produce radiation. When it comes within human contact, radiation hurts cells which can sicken people. The cause of the Chernobyl meltdown was mostly because of human error.

propulsion can be defined as using small plutonium based bricks to power space vehicles for interplanetary trips. Nuclear electric systems provide very low thrust levels and use only very small amounts of fuel during the voyage. Using electric propulsion also allows the use of less fuel making the space crafts launch weight much lower than it would be with chemical fuel.

The last beneficial use for plutonium is for cardiac pacemakers. The thermo-electric generator, which is, powered by radio nuclide batteries that powers the pacemaker uses Pu-238.One of the obvious uses of plutonium, whether is an advantage or disadvantage, is for weaponry. It is an advantage if we need to use it against a foe, but it is disadvantageous is our foes use it against the United States.

If you're still concerned about exposure to nuclear radiation, you're in for a big surprise when you find out you can't avoid it. There is more of a chance you will die from radon gas than there is from plutonium. After considering all these factors, whether they are advantages or disadvantages, it is obvious that the use of plutonium is, in fact, feasible and the disadvantages are highly unlikely to affect your health and well being. You probably should be more worried about dying in an car accident or a plane crash.

a person's heart beating. Then we started to build more reactors and produce more of the substance but mostly for our nuclear weapons programs.

Now that we are at the hands of the Non-proliferation Treaty and the Test Ban Treaty, we no longer can make and/or test nuclear weapons. This should help end ideas about nuclear war and other disadvantages to having plutonium in other country's' supplies. Now that we have recognized three important uses for Plutonium and that the threat of nuclear war is no longer as feasible as before, we should recognize the disadvantages of this great energy source. They mostly have to do with excess waste and health effects from the use of nuclear energy.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Pu-238 Pu-239, Russia Chernobyl, Safety Council, Glenn Seaborg, USSR Chernobyl, Solution Abstract, Ban Treaty, Hiroshima Nagasaki, WWII Americans, War II, nuclear reactors, nuclear weapons, coal oil, power plants, space exploration, electric propulsion, nuclear power, nuclear electric, nuclear energy, power nuclear, nuclear electric propulsion, nuclear power plants, radio nuclide batteries, power nuclear reactors, burning coal oil,
Approximate Word count = 1996
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)