Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason Thompson
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...that would put the SNAP-27 generator in the deepest part of the pacific in order to avoid the risk of showering somewhere with plutonium...
The casks are of graphite composite (similar to the leading edge of the space shuttle wings) and are meant to withstand explosions and re-entry. The individual fuel elements are clad in rhodium or vanadium or some other similar metal and measure no more than a few grams each. In the
absolute worst case where the cask ruptures and the cladding burns away, the safest way to render the plutonium harmless is to dilute it with several billion liters of sea water.