[ RadSafe ] Uranium Source

[Mercado, Don]

	 A Karam  wrote: 
	
	It's not uncommon to find U minerals that have formed in
fossilized plants.  Among the hottest natural rocks I've handled was a
large piece of fossilized wood (petrified wood) - it was literally a
chunk of wood in which much of the organic material had been replaced by
uranium minerals.  I have to admit I did not do any extensive testing,
but it felt about as dense as many lead minerals we played with in
geology labs and measured about 400 mr/hr beta dose and over 100 mr/hr
gamma at a distance of 1 cm or so.  What was neat is that you could
still see the texture of the wood.
	 
	Wow. I found two HUGE chunks of petrified tree on my property
when I bought my house. I'll have to check them for U. THANKS!
	 
	Don