Re: Radioactive Rocks

["Franz Schoenhofer" <schoenho@via.at>]

Schoenhofer
Habichergasse 31/7
A-1160 Wien
AUSTRIA
Tel./Fax: +43-1-4955308
Mobiltel.: +43-664-3380333
e-mail: schoenho@via.at

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> Von: Sue M. Dupre <dupre@arundel.Princeton.EDU>
> An: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
> Betreff: Radioactive Rocks
> Datum: Mittwoch, 29. Oktober 1997 23:11
> 
> Good afternoon, RADSAFErs:
> 
> Our Geology Department would finally like to get rid of some of its 
> rock and mineral collection, which include some hot specimens.  Do 
> you have any specific comments to offer concerning how we go about 
> disposing of these unrefined, unprocessed rocks?  They're in their 
> original form, just as they were chipped out of the ground decades 
> ago.  I can't think immediately of regulatory requirements specifying 
> that these have to go out as radioactive waste.  Any experience to the 
> contrary?  If we toss them out, even one by one in the University's 
> trash heading for the municipal landfill, there's some possibility 
> that they could set off radiation detectors - if the landfill has any. 
> Remember that, while you're free to argue and express outrage that 
> we should even have to consider doing anything special to dispose of 
> these naturally occurring materials, I really am looking for advice, 
> previous experience and direction.  
> 
> with regards,
> Sue Dupre
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Sue,

I have hesitated to answer your question, thinking whether our approach
some years ago was correct. 

The "Technical Museum" of Vienna underwent reconstruction for some years
now and one of the concerns was to get rid of radioactive substances. Since
I am interested in the history of radioactivity I took the chance to go
there with my doserate meters and contamination monitors to select items of
interest. You may know that Jachymov - Joachimsthal was not so long ago
within the borders of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. We were able to retrieve
a lot of uranium compounds used for glass colouring and store them at my
institute. They were all in beautiful mouth blown glasses. On one place we
got an awful high reading on our contamination monitors. We emptied all the
material from the cupboard, but the reading persisted. Then we found out
that the reading was caused by a rock, which was on the other side of the
wall..... Needless to say that I refused to take the most highly active
items and as far as I know they have been treated as radioactive waste and
shipped to our Research Institute at Seibersdorf to dispose it of. 

We keep our uranium rocks behind lead, but are somehow afraid of possible
Rn-222 contamination - therefore the storage place for our radioactive
substances are far away from our measurement rooms. They might be excellent
items for demonstrating natural radioactivity at schools and university,
but I do not know the US regulations. One should be careful, not to uprage
the so called "public opinion"....

This gives only my experience and opinion, I doubt whether this helps!

Franz