Uranium mine near Moab, Utah

Extremely radioactive black uraninite pitchblende may be found on the numerous abandoned mine dumps around Moab, Utah, which became the "uranium capital" of the United States after a discovery in the 1950s. This short video sweeps across the picturesque vistas seen from the Shinarump Mines about 7 miles north of Moab, then zooms in on a chunk of pitchblende that has just been located with a scintillation detector. The chunk shown is representative of the heavy vein pitchblende found in the Triassic Chinle conglomerate. Some of this pitchblende exceeds 80% uranium by weight.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Uranium
• mining
• radiation
• radioactivity
• minerals
• Utah

[bottle2lip]

do you store samples in lead lined containers? Im thinking of making a trip out there. I have a CRM-100 detector. I just want a couple samples, and will leave them in a shed outside. Just dont feel comfy with uranium in my bedroom haha

[Thallium208]

@bottle2lip I store most specimens in ZipLoc bags, in large plastic bins outside. For specimens stored indoors, the most important safety precaution is to keep them in a hermetically-sealed container so that radon doesn't contaminate the vicinity. External gamma exposure is trivial from small pieces and only becomes an issue when you have bulk containers of ore or its tailings.

[TheCaptainLulz]

you should have puyt your hand over the scintilator to cancel out alpha's. It would have been a cool trick to show how beta or gamma radiative that UO2 was. Cool vid though. I dig up UO2 when Im rockhounding but Ive never found anything that big.

[Thallium208]

@TheCaptainLulz This scintillation detector is insensitive to alpha and most beta radiation since it is built in a copper pipe. It's a gamma detector.

[KarbineKyle]

WOW, NICE! I like that Bismuth Germanate (BGO) scintillator probe on the Ludlum! BGO crystals will glow a bright aqua color when exposed to X- and Gamma ray wavelengths. I'd love to go back to Colorado. There's a lot of Uranium there too. I used to go there all the time when I was young, but now that I'm older and into radioactivity, I can't go back! Anyways, that Uraninite is HOT! I have some hot specimens, not sure if any of mine are that hot! NICE FIND! Very inspiring and interesting! THANKS!

[magicstix0r]

@AKAtheA Feel free to cite sources backing up the statement "most states have laws preventing one from acquiring radioactive materials at will regardless of their quantity or composition without some kind of license"

[AKAtheA]

@magicstix0r does not answer my question at all...most states have laws preventing one from acquiring radioactive materials at will regardless of their quantity or composition without some kind of license...

I was interested what restrictions do the US laws apply...pretty sure there still are some...

[magicstix0r]

@AKAtheA Because in America individuals have rights and are citizens. We don't have "privileges" nor are we subjects.

[AKAtheA]

How is the US law tolerant to collecting collecting radioactive material? Especially the "juicy" ones as in the vid...

[Bonsay3]

My carnotite mineral is for Utah

[bottle2lip]

Thanks for the pointers. I'm taking Geology in College right now. And radioactive minerals and artifacts are very interesting to me.

[RomelioSanzz]

Is truth that actually there are high levels of radiation in Utah because of 1950's atomic tests??? What about the "The Conqueror" movie curse???, in a 1956 H. Hughes movie starred by J. Wayne, almost all producers and actors died of Cancer some years before, because they stayed for 3 months making the movie in Utah near to Nevada Nuclear Test site.