Post-accident inhalation exposure and experience with plutonium

This paper addresses the issue of inhalation exposure immediately afterward and for a long time following a nuclear accident. For the cases where either a nuclear weapon burns or explodes prior to nuclear fission, or at locations close to a nuclear reactor accident containing fission products, a major concern is the inhalation of aerosolized plutonium (Pu) particles producing alpha-radiation. We have conducted field studies of Pu- contaminated real and simulated accident sites at Bikini, Johnston Atoll, Tonopah (Nevada), Palomares (Spain), Chernobyl, and Maralinga (Australia).