Why is plutonium more harmful than uranium?

Scientists say plutonium may be the worst of all the fission byproducts that could enter the environment as a result of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. read more

Plutonium-239, the isotope found in the spent MOX fuel, is much more radioactive than the depleted Uranium-238 in the fuel. Plutonium emits alpha radiation, a highly ionizing form of radiation, rather than beta or gamma radiation. read more

It takes a lot more uranium to pose a threat than it does plutonium since plutonium has a much shorter half life than uranium. read more

The fallout of plutonium is more deadly- which always kills more people than the blast. Uranium can be used in a H-bomb- where the fission of the nuclear bomb fuses deutirium and tritium also in the bomb- causing a fusion reaction for a much larger blast. read more