[ RadSafe ] Shielding of DEVICES

Fri Jan 6 19:32:10 CST 2012

Hi Jim:

So somebody couldn't figure-out which scale he was on...

Not only uranium ore samples are problematic... There are several dimension
stone products, especially certain anatectic granites & gorgeous
pegmatites, that are quite radioactive - because uranium-bearing fluids
tends to segregate and precipitate at the very end-phase of magma
crystallization forming veins, veinlike features, and generally
uranium-enriched rocks.  In one case, what one mining company would
consider ore-grade, anatectic granites in Namibia were being nicely cut and
polished by the dimension stone people next door and shipped everywhere!

You better run, Jim, because I'm sure that those law-enforcement groups are
after you by now!  Maybe the poor, unwitting businessman as well!

Was it one of those gorgeous pegmatites from Brazil?
*http://tinyurl.com/Brzl-Grnt*
*
*

Dan ii

On Fri, Jan 6, 2012 at 5:26 PM, Jim Hardeman
<Jim.Hardeman at dnr.state.ga.us>wrote:

> Dan --
>
> No, I was the rad guy who, along with his staff, had the unfortunate
> responsibility of performing radiation measurements on the "box of
> rocks". To make a long story short, an LE officer at "a major
> international airport", who happened to be carrying a "rad pager" was in
> a cargo warehouse and his pager alarmed. The officer determined that a
> foot locker, part of an international shipment, was the source of the
> radiation.The radiation measurements that were relayed to us were
> "somewhat exaggerated" (if you consider 3 or so orders of magnitude to
> be "slightly") <grin>, making the response a little more urgent than was
> actually warranted. We were requested by "law enforcement authorities"
> to perform radiation measurements on the box, determine (if possible)
> what it was and report our findings to them. Due to the breathless
> urgency in which this request was made, we pointed SEVERAL spectrometers
> (NaI, LaBr3 and HpGe) at the offending item, and found only elevated
> levels of natural uranium, thorium and their decay products.
>
> My understanding is that after we reported our findings to law
> enforcement authorities, they went out to "talk to" the unfortunate
> businessman (not even a geologist) who had, unknowingly, shipped a box
> of radioactive rocks to himself. I would have loved to be a fly on the
> wall during that "conversation".
>
> Sorry to be so vague in my description, but I don't want any of those
> same law enforcement authorities knocking on my door ...
>
> Jim Hardeman
>
> >>> Dan McCarn <hotgreenchile at gmail.com> 1/6/2012 17:09 >>>
> Dear Jim:
>
> Were you on the receiving end... or the giving end of the inspection...
> So
> you are that poor, witless geologist?
>
> There have been times when I have been very surprised that my baggage
> was
> not inspected (before 2001).  Since then, they always seem
> ultra-curious
> about my Ludlum Model 19 and not the rocks...
>
> Dan ii
>
> On Fri, Jan 6, 2012 at 2:57 PM, Jim Hardeman
> <Jim.Hardeman at dnr.state.ga.us>wrote:
>
> > Dan --
> >
> > You speak in the future tense, when instead, you should have spoken
> in
> > the PAST tense. Been there, done that.
> >
> > Jim Hardeman
> >
> > >>> Dan McCarn <hotgreenchile at gmail.com> 1/6/2012 16:38 >>>
> > Dear Group:
> >
> > Most likely, they will find radioactive rocks on some poor witless
> > geologist...
> >
> > Dan ii
> >
> > On Thu, Jan 5, 2012 at 11:50 AM, Clayton J Bradt
> > <CJB01 at health.state.ny.us>wrote:
> >
> > > Joe Presig wrote:
> > >
> > > ...   A person who can bring to bear such a DEVICE into  another
> > nation
> > > would probably be able to
> > > design a radiation shield(s) to make it very difficult and/or
> > impossible
> > > to
> > >  detect such a DEVICE.
> > >
> > >     As Oppenheimer once responded to the question (How  would you
> > detect
> > > such a weapon),
> > > he wryly suggested that one needs a screwdriver to detect such
> > DEVICES.
> > > (i.e not some
> > > sophisticated radiation detector(s)).  Hopefully USA and other
> > nation's
> > > will use direct inspection of
> > > containers, shipping packages etc. to look for nuclear DEVICES
> > directly
> > > ....
> > >
> > > There is no instrumental solution to this problem.  Save for
> > dismantling
> > > every package (as Oppenheimer's remarks suggest)
> > >  before it crosses the border, there will always be ways to
> > circumvent any
> > > surveillance system.  The amount of time and
> > > money being spent on developing new super-duper detection systems
> is
> > > largely wasted.  It would be far better spent
> > > on trying to figure out why some people want to attack us, and
> then
> > > convincing them not to do so.  (This of course would
> > > risk the possibility of learning that some people might have good
> > reasons
> > > for hating us.  It's a risk worth taking, in my view.)
> > >
> > >
> > > Clayton J. Bradt
> > > Principal Radiophysicist
> > > NYS Dept. of Health
> > > Biggs Laboratory, Room D486A
> > > Empire State Plaza
> > > Albany, NY 12201-0509
> > >
> > > 518-474-1993
> > >
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> >
> > --
> > Dan ii
> >
> > --
> > Dan W McCarn, Geologist
> > 108 Sherwood Blvd
> > Los Alamos, NM 87544-3425
> > +1-505-672-2014 (Home – New Mexico)
> > +1-505-670-8123 (Mobile - New Mexico)
> > HotGreenChile at gmail.com (Private email) HotGreenChile at gmail dot
> com
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>
>
> --
> Dan ii
>
> --
> Dan W McCarn, Geologist
> 108 Sherwood Blvd
> Los Alamos, NM 87544-3425
> +1-505-672-2014 (Home – New Mexico)
> +1-505-670-8123 (Mobile - New Mexico)
> HotGreenChile at gmail.com (Private email) HotGreenChile at gmail dot com
> _______________________________________________
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-- 
Dan ii

--
Dan W McCarn, Geologist
108 Sherwood Blvd
Los Alamos, NM 87544-3425
+1-505-672-2014 (Home – New Mexico)
+1-505-670-8123 (Mobile - New Mexico)
HotGreenChile at gmail.com (Private email) HotGreenChile at gmail dot com