Sounds a bit suspect to me - as you say, no radioactive isotopes of lithium. The most common minerals containing lithium in potentially commercial concentrations are spodumene and petalite, both of which contain no elements with radioactive isotopes. However, another source is lepidolite, which contains potassium, the most widespread radioactive element in the crust. But it contains only 0.01% of the radioactive isotope (although potassium is the major source of radioactivity from coal ash!). Lithium brine deposits may be exploited for lithium, but since these are derived from the minerals listed, there is no reason to expect them to be radioactive.
But I suspect that the suggestion comes from the fact that prior to the invention of lithium batteries, the major use of lithium was in thermo-nuclear weapons, with lithium deuteride the usual secondary fuel.
John
JDNSW
1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol
Bookmarks