Collecting Uranium: 101 The Basics
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- čas přidán 25. 05. 2013
- !!!The most important aspects of safety!!!
Key things to reduce exposure:
1. Shielding
2. Time (of exposure)
3. Distance
Key things to keep safe:
1. Minimize exposure if possible.
2. Always wash hands and wear gloves.
3. Never allow inhalation or ingestion of dust from samples.
4. Keep samples away from children (anyone, actually) and only bring
5. Never store samples under your bed (not sure why they do, but apparently people do this lol)
Good books:
Introduction to Radioactive Minerals - Robert Lauf
Places to buy uranium:
minresco.com
UnitedNuclear.com
(eBay and Amazon have some too, but be careful!)
Places to get equipment:
Carolina.com
GeigerCounters.com
www.minresco.com
Places to get a Geiger counter (including recommended models):
Model 3 + 44-9 Pancake Probe - Ludlums.com
Inspector - GeigerCounters.com
PRM9000 - GeigerCounters.com
CDV700 - VArious places (careful of bad units... may need repair and claibration)
I came here with no intentions to actually collect uranium...
Same
Yeah, I think I'll leave it to mad people like this guy or people who have a laboritory to store it in safely.
Exactly
Me either. Scary
Me too. Not intending on collecting uranium. I am a rockhound, gold prospecting, digging gal that would like to stay safe.
We are all probably on some kind of government watch list for watching this video.
Doubtful. Uranium in this form a pretty harmless. It isn't much use for weapons and totally legal in the USA. You can have truck loads and no law is broken.
antiprotons Well...no laws but definitely will have an eye on you.
DinoBlockHD It would seem they have an eye on everyone... so I doubt I am extra special.
+wesajarjar Hell, anyone who watches Bomb or other nuclear themed videos, visits wiki to read about Sarin, or types something less than flattering about our Beloved Dear Government on Twitter or FB is already ON THE LIST!
wesajarjar hell yes we are! I have watched movies about nukes lately, and other assorted videos covering nuclear materials. Are the feds about to knock on my door? The United States government are the ones who introduced the world to this stuff! I cannot help it if it is so fascinating!
Very nice collection!
I do agree that uranocircite is fantastic under UV-light :) I have a sample of it but haven't filmed it yet. Watching this video I really feel the urge to make an update video for my own collection - oh well, it will be a good project for the summer holiday :)
BTW: I think you have a small sample of samarskite (that small black glass-like sample). I'm not a pro at all but I believe pure pitchblende/uraninite of that size would be even hotter on your sensitive pancake probe.
Love your openness and honesty. I am a real rock hound and this has opened a new window to me. You have some great vids. Wish I was 50 years closer to my birthday.
next episode: Refining Uranium 101
***** *gives you kitten to distract you :)
***** Why is it I can give my self a thumbs up, but not you !! ??
***** *thumbs up :)
I love that expression so much, it went perfectly with the comment.
I heard very little about refining Uranium, but I heard that certain nations (including the nation I am living in now) can't do it even now as it's very expensive.
Jesus Marie, they're minerals.
Funny story, when I was in middle school I visited a university's Physics department. Mainly astrophysics and nuclear physics. The Dr. (Ph.D) in charge of the nuclear physics department would carry around Cobalt discs in his chest pocket. He said if he left it in his pocket for several hours the part of the skin that it was exposed to would turn red.
Started watching Fallout 4 and ended up on this vid lol
I searched uranium
+OPgamerTV Me too XD
+OPgamerTV haha so did I!!!
+OPgamerTV was watching uranium fever music vid and got here XD
Uranium fever has done and got me down!
Uranium fever is spreadin' all around!
With a Geiger counter in my hand
I'm a-goin' out to stake me some government land
Uranium fever has done and got me down!
Nice presentation. Informative. Thank you for your time talking about and showing us your hobby.
So far, I have found everything you have said to be worthwhile. A few old uranium mines around here I have often wondered about. Time is a good point. One thing I CAN control.
Thanks For Taking The Time Friend. I wondered from time to time what the green stuff besides green plant life.
thanks to you really you are great person and very brave, you are explaining in good way it is help full for us to understand what is really the story of Uranium. Our greetings from Iraq-Kurdistan to you and your people around you
Tom, you are an excellent teacher! Thanks.
There is little danger in mining your own R-Active minerals. Eye protection, gloves and sometimes even a respirator are certainly encouraged, but not required. Also, remember the inverse square law. Unless you keep your samples next to your major organs when you eat and sleep, there is little danger of storing said samples in your home. I keep my minerals in a separate room in an igloo cooler lined with lead foil tape when I am not interacting with them. Excellent video Anti-P! Thanks!
Thank you so much for sharing all this - great job!!
Good. Afternoon. TOM. Your. VIDEO. Was. Very. INTERESTING
Lol. Tie-you-YAM-oh-nite. I have two cabinet specimens from the Edgemont SD roll-front deposit, that we're collected during my grad school years. Interesting video. Thanks.
Hello Tom, very good and very informative video and your samples are beautiful, awesome, pieces. Thank you!!!
I have collected many non-radioactive rock and mineral specimens almost all my life. It is and has been a lot of fun!!! I hope to in time collect and prospect for some uranium and nice blacklight specimens in the near future...
My grandfather did work (I believe around pre WW 2) in the Uranium and Vanadium mines in the Colorado mining districts, digging out Uranium for a few years, for of course processing of the ore by the atomic energy commission (AEC) back then for nuclear energy and the classified at that time, development of the atomic bombs back then...
I at one time, when I was around ten years of age in the early 60s was shown by my father a very nice, roughly 2 in. sized, yellow sample piece of Uranium, that he told me his father had found and given to him before he passed away in 1957 from pancreatic cancer (which possibly may have resulted from his higher exposure in his mining years in the mines?)
I have been trying to re-locate that sample my dad had shown me and wish that I could find it again, but so far no good luck...I am afraid someone in my family may have mistakenly discarded it at some point in time as just a plain looking old rock?.
I would have loved for it to have been the very first radioactive specimen and also a bit of an historical family heirloom for my collection. Thanks for allowing me to share my story with you and others interested in collecting...Just subscribed, great job and nice collection sir...
"Uranium fever has done and got me down
Uranium fever is spreadin' all around
With a Geiger counter in my hand
I'm a-goin' out to stake me some government land
Uranium fever has done and got me down"
yes!
obviously he didn't have a UV light with him
that's a good song and i actually collect uranium
Lol dude I was thinking about this song while watching this thank you!
I don't want to set the world on fire
I just want to start
a flame in your heart.
I love this channel and thanks for the great explanations on different types of radioactive rock's greetings from Scotland to you
I watched my dad collect uranium in 1952..I was six years old.
My dad and my mother's cousin worked claims near Moab..dynamite, picks and shovels to fill a five yard dumptruck and deliver to refinery for $500.00.
They struck the claim to the Rio Algum Lisbon Valley mine..my dad gave his share to his partner in 1962 and the 3rd shareholder got all the royaties..for 17 years...
All that's left is three ponds..site is closed but everything around it has been claimed by other companies..the mine never played out..prices dropped...headframe, shop and refinery are all buried.
Another good source for uranium samples (ones that light up nice and bright under blacklight, but not so good for radio sources) is antique green glass. Although a lot of modern green glass also uses uranium, I've gotten some very nice pieces of green glassware that glow shockingly bright under blacklight.
That sounds like a really low activity piece, so probably, but I would recommend not putting it too close to people. Consider placing it in a plastic baggy. That aluminum is blocking all alpha and beta, but the gamma rays go right through it. You should get a Geiger counter. They are loads of fun and nice to have with uranium.
Something more useful than sheets of foil covering sheets of lead are the lead lined photography bags. They are sold for protecting film from x-rays at the inspection stations at airports. I have a spare if anyone needs one.
It's useful for Uranium because it's an Alpha emitter.
I need it
I just recently got a Gardiner Electronics model 143 scintillation counter. With no manual and only one picture of it on the internet I got it working. It is used for finding uranium for uranium mines. It is so sensitive that you can detect gamma emitters from a few inches away, or you can detect it under ground from a plane. I can't wait to go around the Arizona desert and hunt for uranium samples.
Yea now ive turned this on ... and now NSA has me on the list.
Jay Sims I feel ya, buddy.
+Jay Sims HEY YOU TURN AROUND.....SLOWLY.
+Jay Sims I'm pretty sure some of their netflix accounts :D
Last week on my recommended: A guy breeding fire ants.
This week: someone collecting uranium on purpose.
Off to find videos of cats and see if I can reset CZcams's very confused algorithm.... O.O
You want you when Yam You can select from India
Yay!! Now we are all on a watchlist!
I bought Torbernite recently, can't wait to get it, the platy square crystals look amazing, i'd like to own the cubic variety too
Nice vid, thanks for showing me/us your collection.
"Oops I'm touching this with my hand. I'm like... Not supposed to be doing that."
I enjoy your viedeos very much, "The uranium monster rawrrr" lol that's awesome. however, a uranium monster is very scary!!!
yeah, I got a kick out of that
This video probably put me on a watch list......
No likely lol You can't do much of anything harmful with it. I'd bet buying a large volume of some naughty chemicals, a bunch of guns, or something like that would be more likely to get you looked at.
antiprotons Where can you sell this thing?
channel2 of course I would not sell my samples, but if I really wanted to I would find a rock and mineral show.
Uranium 238 isn't really all that dangerous and I'm sure it's not illegal to own it as well
I get my U.V. lights from my local 'growers' shop :P
***** Sorry 'bout that. happy 2015 :)
In case anyone is interested in finding your own, try sw Colorado, in particular the area and abandoned mines around Uravan and Slick Rock. Really great carnotite and pitchblende,
smart
He got me back into rock collecting. I own a small piece of natural Uranium rock.its low in Radioactive levels.
I have four mineral/rock collections, currently:
1. Gem stones (emeralds, diamonds, rubies, amethyst, etc).
2. Rocks and Minerals (normal stuff)
3. Radioactive Minerals
4. Florescent Minerals
Collecting minerals is super fun!!!
I am 43 years old and have 25/20 vision in both eyes, and have a magnifying glass. It'd be nice to wear some cool glasses, but you win some, you lose some.
Very informative video.
these are such beautiful samples
Nice, thanks for sharing.
Very nice video, thank you! It quite honestly makes me want to grab a geiger counter and a pickaxe, and head up into the coast mountains somewhat and see what I can find. (Althoug considering where I live, anything that sparks up the counter will be thorium or radium-based ores most likely.) I'd like to make a nice collection that shines under UV and keep a permanent display with a blacklight running on em. :)
Alpha's typically pick up stray electrons and become helium 4.
Actually, alpha's are a form of decay known as a cluster decay. Many other light nuclei can be made this way. Heavy ions (cluster decay products) are really fun to work with!
Depends on the detector. Any uranium sample can be any count rate. Pitchblende is often much more radioactive than other samples. It is black and shiny, looking sometimes like silvery galena.
Hey, you might be right! I checked my mineral reference and the crystal shape of my sample is not the same as pitchblende or uraninite. I think you have correctly identified my tiny sample as samarskite! =)
Cheers!
My favorite place to search for said material is at lake Baldwin located in Orlando, Florida. I did some research it turns out military personnel buried a huge nuclear submarine there! That's because they closed the base located there fully in 1961!
Beautiful natural wonders :) Makes me think of what else this earth has to offer!
Wine, the opposite sex, and high energy lasers! :)
antiprotons Its fun to see the video :) specially the comments which are most interesting I ve ever read on any video!
Great video. Just a quick question; I understand that the samples are very beautiful and cool to collect, however, what is the point of collecting them if you can't really display them safely or have to hide them away most of the time? Is there anyway you can display them safely?
you should do a version of this showing us what glows oder uv light
what would be the "hotest" sample in your collection? awesome collection btw. I have always wanted to start a element and rare & common earth minerals collection.
I haven't watched the entire vid yet; is the glow in the dark factor from radium in the uranium?
Gen Scinmore I believe it mostly comes from the oxidized uranium, though radium might add a little to this. Most uranyl phospates which glow have UO2, e.g. Autunite: Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2-10H2O
+Gen Scinmore It's not glowing, it's fluorescing under a darklight. :)
I found a few samples they glow green under uv and I picked them up in the Phoenix Arizona superstition mountain area - people on my rock hound Facebook groups claims I have uranium ore ‘ I’m not to sure though- so I’m now doing research on this very topic
Your are correct. Additionally, the readings are only accurate for the calibrated isotope, Co60 or Cs137 most likely in the case of the CDV700. =)
The person who tests the uranium says she uses the window open, which is why the readings are higher. I'd rather them high ball than low ball, of course.
Now when I provided a dose rate, I tested for 30 min using a 4cm^3 CsI(Tl) energy sensitive spectrometer at a distance of 1.25 cm, gamma/x-ray only.
I used to be a web designer, but no more. They have that classic 90's feel about them :) Really takes me back. Oh well, at least it is very utilitarian.
No Worries. Your English is better than many people born and raised in the USA lol (Sad but true)
For cost to shielding ratio, the best way to store uranium ore is probably a borehole in your garden. Use the ground as shielding.
Thanks! I have been looking at the Samsung w300 rugged, but I will also check out the Cannon.
Thanks! The collection is small, but each sample is high quality lol
I might make a short version just showing the samples (with a higher rez camera) and try to keep it to under 5 min. I get lots of flack for my long videos lol
Some energy compensated tubes or coverings for tubes making them compensated (called filters) do allow the energy to remain stable enough to provide a reasonable readings.
I still discourage their use, but if you must try and get a reading from a Geiger counter in energy units, you really should use an energy compensated probe. :P
Torbernite is high radioactivity but it's incredibly beautiful. Is there a safe way to store this? If I get it I'll probably lock it up in a lead box and forget about it.
I have a question that's bothered me for a while now. What is too hot? for instance I have a tiny sample of ore that's half the size of a postage stanp that gives a reading of 1000 CPM on my beta/gama only GMC-500... I asked the question in their forum and basically got "I wouldnt make an earring out of it, but it's safe". Never mind you were very specific :-) Thanks
i mean i guess it relates to areas but i go gem hunting in the mountains near where i live is it worth having a geiger counter with me just in case i come across something that might be dangerous also im guessing wearing gloves is always a good idea because lead and other heavy metals could be present when prospecting
Would it be safe to store a little sampe of uranium ore in an appartment (in the toilets for example, which are 3m away from a living room) ? Also, does it creates a lot of radon or the natural aeration of a flat would get rid of it ?
@@kkhariy48 I ended up keeping them outside of one of my window, not because of radiation, but because of radon. I'm not interested in lung cancer haha.
Btw, I was in Tokyo from March to July this year! I loved it.... I wish I could have stayed more or that I will return there one day for longer.
I really need to find a good one and for a good price. Every time I buy a camera, it ends up being crappy. Any suggestions?
Hi. I bought small piece about 1 inch in diameter and my geiger counter shows ~170 microSv/h and about 8 microSv/h gama. Is that ok?
i usually only measure in absorbed dose rate in mRad/h or mSv/h because i find it way better because you get a better view of the danger of your samples
amazing how the potential dangerous rocks are so beautiful to see! Not sure if I'll start my own collection tho... only because my knowledge of radiation etc would max out at 10 cpm at 0 inches.... :P
nice video
That piece was amazing and only about 20 bucks. I hope to get some nice samples when I travel to ruggles mine next month.
Seu vídeo é muito interessante. Obrigado pelas informações.
6:56 thought that was a nug at first
MrOTBxTrains next video: my hands are swollen and they hurt.
At exactly 12:10, I was reading the information card I made for the sample. The dose rate came from a CsI(Tl) spectrometer and the counter rate was (23,000 CPM) was alpha, beta, gamma, and x-ray.
Cool, you have the same exact ultraviolet lamp (the fluorescent bulb one) as I do! Can you find thorium minerals in nature easily seeing that thorium is less radioactive and isn't as toxic as uranium.
thanks for the video, i learned some stuff, feel more educated and safer
I have one of them old CD detectors seems to work ok ...can I use it to find anything with it
You should see my tumor collection!
haha
Went to ruggles mine once, miss it so much.
Does anyone else think his voice sounds like Badger from Breaking Bad?
no
Oh he sorta does
Nice collection you've got there!
At 22:16 , you can see a little mark carved on the rock. I think it says "Bionerd23 was here"....
Anyway, I'm becoming more and more angsty to get myself a Geiger counter just to wander around with it!
how is the uranium concentration in michigan? I am not concerned, but i want to find my own ores/minerals here
Hi! I got some Uranium ore fro Elliot Lake. It's in a mineral collection I got from an uncle. It's grey and yellow. Is it save to keep it in the house, touch it? thanks in advance.
I've never actually seen Uranium in its natural form. It's rather pretty, kind of like the jade or Pounamu (greenstone) you can find here in New Zealand.
I hope to go to Ruggles Mine, NH, next month to get some new samples lol
I feel like I'm going to end up on an NSA watchlist, but I just wanted to know if it was safe to get a piece of pitchblende for my high school science teacher to do the experiment with the vapor chamber where you can see the trails of radiation being emitted from the material
What do you think of the Bicron Analyst, or the GCA-07W?
Yep, torbernite. I got a piece that blows the needle of my counter. I got it of of eBay, but it's still legal. I even got the UN label from it.
Hello I really like your videos. I have a few questions I am still so new to this. All the information I have is from videos on here. A few questions I have is. Say I have a ore sample that’s 1000CPM. how long would I have to say hold it look at it. With rubber gloves on and a face mask to stop the dust. Before the radiation could affect me. ? Thanks I plan on keeping it in a Lead Pig too
How do you store this stuff???
Carefully??? Ever heard on radon daughters?? Even the around them can be radioactive.
Ra, Po, Pa, and Ac are often more radioactive (depending on the isotope, of course)... and you can find them all in natural uranium. They are not millions of times more radioactive, but thousands (depending on the isotope). Uranium is slightly more dangerous than lead because uranium contains Th, Rn, Ra, Po, Pa, and Ac.
Now, you have me with K40 (259 kBq/g) > U238 (12.43 kBq/g) :)
Where is a good place to buy Uranium that ships to Canada?
i have found an offer of 0,4 g or uranium an thorium (metallic) and because it was so cheap my brain just stoped working and i bought them. is it ok if i keep them in the envelope till i get al the safety equipment?
where did u get the thorium?
i want some for an element collection
hey, i got it from a guy that bought it from united nuclear and he got it for 84 and sold it for 54.
Hello, OP, I know this video's years old, but perhaps you could expand on something you said toward the end when discussing beta particles, stopping them abruptly will cause x-rays. Can you unpick that a bit for me? I don't understand how that occurs, but it's fascinating.
I wonder....does the "Uranium Red" dishware like Fiestaware give off Radon gas as you keep it in your cupboard with your other dishes?
+antiprotons is uranium ores can found in all type of mountains? or not at all?… pls answer me.
Thank's
+bryan angelo pedrosa The higher grade or, like what you see my video, can be found in many different sorts of places, but not at all. Uranium can often be found near granite deposits, though it can also be found in sandstones and other sorts of places. Answer to your question is quite complex and depends very much the type uranium are looking for. One good way to get an ideal or find it is to look up where uranium mines are. Usually you'll find natural uranium nearby.
very nice video
Your videos are great, full of information. You mentioned in another video you are a career scientist and that nuclear physics is a hobby, what field do you work in?
I think it might be interesting to try putting in led glass and see if any radiation gets through. Ig make a great solution. You can see it without having to remove the shielding.
To be clear, I am not a physical scientist (e.g. chemist, physicist, etc), I am a computer scientist. Consider this like a network engineer vs. a civil engineer. I use science every day to construct programs, etc.
I write complex data programs, often ETL's, for large information systems. In my spare time, I write software for gamma spectroscopic analysis.
I'm hoping to return to college and get a MS in physics, but not right now.
You mentioned that some sources have potassium. What are some of the best potassium containing stones?
if you want pure uranium you can get 3 and 10 gram samples and solid lead contains. it comes with a certificate that says its cpm
Thanks for the answers, appreciate it :)
Can you come up with any examples where it has been successful getting rid of the waste without ruining the nature?
Uranium is used these days for either fuel, radiation shielding (believe it or not), and of course weapons. In the old days (pre 1970's) uranium was used as a colorant in dishware, tiles, etc, as well.
Uranium can undergo fission, whereby it breaks into two smaller atoms and releases the net energy. Done slowly, this provides heat for power plants. Done fast, you get a nuclear weapon.
These days, very few nuclear weapons are made. The US, Russia, etc, already have their stockpiles.