An impressive find : That tiny radioactive capsule

[peak4Participant @peak4]

Here on Light Straw, we have a little article on Trimphone dial disposal
https://www.lightstraw.uk/ate/tao/trimphones/radiation1.html

"Light Straw" is the cream coloured paint used after battleship Grey on telephones and transmission equipment in GPO/BT; also coincidentally the colour of the rood of my Landrover, as I found a tin after I'd retired.

Bill

Edited By peak4 on 03/02/2023 01:10:46

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi Clive, never really thought much about the two "T's" so that's something I've learnt today.

Regards Nick.

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by Robert Atkinson 2 on 02/02/2023 21:55:16:

Posted by Grindstone Cowboy on 02/02/2023 19:34:08:

Apparently there were three buckets of uranium at the Grand Canyon visitor centre for years until somebody noticed

Links to https://eu.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2019/02/18/grand-canyon-tourists-exposed-radiation-safety-manager-says/2905358002/

Rob

That incident is very bizzare. Uranium is not much of a radiation hazard, it's toxcity as a heavy metal is as much of a concern. Some ore in a storeroom was unlikely to pose a hazard to visitors. The incident, which I'd heard of before, sounded like some kind of retaliation by an employee or at best over-zelous health and safety action.

In the UK there is no restriction on possession of up to 15kg of natural or depleted Uranium metal….

There is uranium and there is uranium ore. And in the middle there is "yellow cake", the concentrated ore that is shipped around the world in 44 gallon drums for final processing. The radiation level of the ore is not very high. Yellow cake a bit higher. The buckets in the Grand Canyon contained ore, not finished uranium.

I worked in the 1970s on the construction of a uranium ore treatment plant at the mining site in the Northern Territory (Australia) and it was just the same as any treatment plant used for iron or gold or any other mineral. All open conveyors, crushers, ball mills, settling tanks etc etc. No special precautions taken that I could see, other than the incoming operatiing staff at the end of construction all wore radiation badges that were checked weekly to make sure they had not been over-exposed that week. So I don't think the ore itself is considered particularly dangerous. (or it wasn't in 1979!).

Nonetheless, I got out of there before they started putting the ore through the machinery,

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

Thanks for the extra info, chaps.

Rob

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