Plutonium Alert Poem by Paul Hartal

"Listen", said the Porcupine. "I am totally serious."

"You try to scare me again", said the Octopus.

"No", said the Porcupine, "I am very scared myself, too.
The transuranic chemical element plutonium exhibits
a set of awkward and perilous qualities."

"So what? " asked the Octopus.

"Just wait", said the Porcupine. "A radioactive
silvery metal with the atomic number 94, plutonium
occurs in nature only in trace quantities. It is produced
synthetically in nuclear reactors from uranium 239."

"I am not scared yet", said the Octopus.

"Be more patient", said the Porcupine.
"Plutonium was actually used in the atomic bomb
dropped on Nagasaki in 1945. It also serves to power
spacecrafts and to heat thermoelectric generators.
This chemical element is extremely toxic. Inhaling even
a minuscule portion of it may cause lung cancer and
its harmful effects include heavy metal poisoning."

"Really? " asked the Octopus.

"Yes", replied the Porcupine. "Moreover, a weird
and hazardous property of plutonium involves
its disposition to catch fire spontaneously.
And although in the explosive cores of nuclear weapons
plutonium Is alloyed with the metallic element gallium,
as a matter of fact nobody knows
whether this combination is reliable, risk-free and safe."

"So what can be done? " said the Octopus.

"You tell me", said the Porcupine. "And bear in mind as well
that no expert in the world can guarantee
that plutonium in nuclear reactors and warheads
are securely stored into the indeterminate future.
Thus, even if we ignore the Sword of Democles,
the looming possibility of a nuclear war,
nobody can give us assurance that the arsenal of weapons
of mass destruction pose no danger at all and for all.
Thousands of plutonium warheads are stockpiled
by nuclearly armed nations, scattered across the world,
on land or hidden in the deep waters of the oceans
in submarines."