Re: natural radioactivity in motor oil?

[Andrew Karam <karam.1@osu.edu>]

I finally had a chance to scan my copy of the USGS Bulletin.  U content of
crude oil varies quite a bit (up to a few ppm) depending on the geochemistry
of the formation in which the oil was found.  In addition, studies done on
three distillation fractions and the residual material from one location
showed over 98% of the U to remain in the residuum.  

I am not sure which fraction constitutes motor oil, but it seems that, if
motor oil is generated by fractional distillation of crude oil, it should
contain very little U.
Other metals showed the same characteristics, with an average of 98% of
metals found in the ash.  

Hope this helps.

Andy


Andrew Karam, CHP (karam.1@osu.edu)
Office of Radiation Safety
The Ohio State University
1314 Kinnear Road
Columbus, OH  43212

Phone: (614) 292-1284   Fax: (614) 292-6404	Alt fax:   292-7002