US plans to resume production of highly radioactive plutonium-238

THE US reportedly plans to resume production of plutonium-238, a substance so radioactive that a speck can cause cancer.

The material, used as a power source, would primarily be used for secret national security missions, according to people involved in the project who declined to give details, the New York Times said.

In the past, nuclear batteries made from plutonium-238 were used to power satellites, planetary probes and spy devices, it said.