RE: Radioactive vinegar bottle ?!?!

["Grimm, Lawrence" <LGrimm@FACNET.UCLA.EDU>]

Radsafers: 



Another interesting fact about naturally occurring U/Th and their daughters is that depending on geologic deposition and chemical makeup, they become analogues to calcium and replace it during fossilization of bone.  If you want to have some fun, take a meter (pancake G-M works best) to your local museum's paleontology section. It's been my experience that about half the fossils will have measurable levels of the U/Th.  I actually had to restrict one aisle in a university's fossil storage area as we were measuring about 5 mR/hr in the middle of the aisle! 



PS: If you work at a university, I recommend that you check your paleontology, geology, etc departments.  They do a lot of cutting of the fossils and minerals, and they do a lot of different things with ores.   Inhalation/ingestion of the dusts from the processes is quite possible.  I educate my Industrial Hygiene co-workers to this fact and work with them to determine if these contain naturally occurring RAM (a double whammy if the material is also toxic).   

 

Larry Grimm, Senior HP

UCLA EH&S/ Radiation Safety Division

*	lgrimm@admin.ucla.edu   Phone:310/206-0712   Fax: 310/206-9051

	Cell: 310/863-5556  Pager:1-800-233-7231ext93569

*	On Campus: 501 Westwood Plaza, 4th Floor, MS 951605

*	Off Campus: UCLA Radiation Safety Div, 501 Westwood Plaza 4th

	Fl, Box 951605, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1605

*	If this email is not RSD business, the opinions are mine, not UCLA's.



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