PUREX (Plutonium and Uranium Recovery by Extraction) metodom se iz istrošenog goriva izdvajaju od fisijskih produkata, neovisno jedan o drugom, plutonij i uran.

Otkriće je objavljeno nakon Drugog svjetskog rata. 1942. je izdvojen i plutonij-239. 1943. je iz plutonijevog trifluorida dobiven prvi uzorak metala plutonija. ref > " The plutonium story " Glenn T.

Over the longer term (100 s to 1000 s of years) the only radionuclides anticipated to be of continuing interest are plutonium isotopes.

" Supernovae generate tremendous temperatures, and under the right conditions, the fusion reactions that take place during the peak moments of a supernova can produce some of the heaviest elements, such as plutonium and californium.

Then Glenn Seaborg and his colleagues created plutonium-238, the first isotope of plutonium (element 94), through the decay of neptunium-238, which they produced by bombarding uranium with deuterium (heavy hydrogen)