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the reason for not "just leaving the Pu-239 in with
the U-235 and continue the 'burning' process". It's been several years
(15+) since I was involved in nuclear physics, but the physics has a nice
habit of not changing! The absorption cross-section of Pu-239 is well in
excess of that of U-235. Even if it were only just the same, it would
grab a "50% market share" of the available thermal neutrons. This would
effectively raise the mass required for sustained criticality beyond that
attainable thus "poisoning" the reaction.