Litmus "Lecanora tartarea" (Norway, Sweden), "Variolaria dealbata", "Ochrolechia parella", "Parmotrema tinctorum", and "Parmelia". Currently, the main sources are "Roccella montagnei" (Mozambique) and "Dendrographa leucophoea" (California). The main use of litmus is to test whether a solution is acidic or basic. Wet litmus paper can also be used to test for water-soluble gases that affect acidity or alkalinity; the gas dissolves in the water and the resulting solution colors the litmus paper. For instance, ammonia gas, which is alkaline, turn the red litmus paper blue. Blue litmus paper turns red under acidic conditions and red litmus paper turns blue under basic or
Plutonium in the environment released into the environment in aqueous solution from nuclear reprocessing and uranium enrichment plants. The chemistry of this plutonium is different from that of the metal oxides formed from nuclear bomb detonations. One example of a site where plutonium entered the soil is Rocky Flats where in the recent past XANES (X-ray spectroscopy) has been used to determine the chemical nature of the plutonium in the soil. The XANES was used to determine the oxidation state of the plutonium, while EXAFS was used to investigate the structure of the plutonium compound present in the soil and concrete. Because plutonium oxide