FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Xaranar]

Hi everyone

So I'm very new to all this, and I'm not sure whether this is the right place to put this. Anyway, I have a fascination with radioactive minerals, particularly those containing uranium. I've recently come into possession a specimen of pitchblende, and it's moderately hot (about 13 uSv/h) beta gamma activity at about one inch. I have a display case for it made of glass as I know this will block all of the alpha and most of the beta emission, my question is, should I seal the container shut? Or will the radon decay product become a problem eventually if I do so?

Thanks in advance!

[Peter Lemkin]

Hello. I also have a sub-collection of radioactive minerals. My training is in Environmental Science and Toxicology, so know a lot about radiation. The radiation level in the city of Fukushima was 13.9 uSv/h - a high level and only a tad higher than your specimen up close. Yes, you can easily block alpha and beta, but not gamma and perhaps the biggest problem is Radon gas, which being heavier than air will collect on the floor in your basement, or some such. Why would you want it out in your case?! I do NOT keep anything mildly radioactive to VERY hot [have some of those too!] in my living quarters. I keep them in a lead box with a Radon vent OUTSIDE and look at and fondle them rarely, washing my hands afterwards. Take a nice photo of it and put the photo in the case and put the specimen somewhere safe outside where the Radon and radiation won't cause any harm....my suggestion. I know some here on this forum think radiation is 'bunk'....but it ain't so. Radiation damage [damage to DNA and some other surface cells - lungs in the case of Radon often] is cumulative and there is more than there used to be and should be in our environment now compared to the past. If you are a devil-may-care kind of person and take the safety shield off of power saws, etc. go ahead. As one radioactive will likely lead to interest in others, be careful. Yes, there are complex/expensive ways to display radioactives safely.....high lead glass and pumping the air out of a negative pressure case to the outside.....but I personally don't suggest it for a normal case in a normal home. Your dog or children - or even you on the floor will be in the pool of invisible Radon slowly building up. Walking though the Radon will mix it with the air if it hasn't sunk into the basement - but walking down there will do the same. It is a risk-benefit situation. I take radiation seriously, we get lots now from old nuke tests, nuclear power accidents, smoke detectors, cigarette smoke [contains radioactives], dust pollution which sometimes contains radioactives from mining operations, medical x-rays, CT-scans et al. It is a nice specimen from a classic [!] location, and I can see you interest in displaying it. Try a nice photo or a few nice photos and take it out of its lead tomb from time to time to show your closest mineral friends. In the end it is your choice - but I don't see how you can stop the Radon from building up nor the gamma radiation.....

[Xaranar]

Hi

Thanks for your response. I know radiation is not bunk, but I also know that it is not to be feared, only respected. It's actually the fact that something invisible could be so dangerous is why I find it fascinating. It's not something I want to handle often, for obvious reasons, but it would be nice to have it on display and I just wondered if sealing the case shut would be enough to stop radon from escaping.

[Peter Lemkin]

[Jesse Fisher]

I should think that keeping it in a sealed container or enclosure is the last thing you would want to do, as that would allow the radon to accumulate and give you a nice dose each time the container/enclosure was opened. Where ever it is stored, it should be well-ventilated to minimize gas buildup.

[Peter Lemkin]

Smoking, radon, and secondhand smoke are the leading causes of lung cancer - any combination of two or three of those cause a synergistic effect [more than the additive sums]. Add the radiation and the radon - both coming off of your lovely specimen and there too there is a synergistic effect. In the USA radon is responsible for about 21,000 lung cancer deaths every year. About 2,900 of these deaths occur among people who have never smoked.

[Xaranar]

[R Saunders]

[Bob Harman]

Everyone,

Please recognize that this poster has today also entered into the Mindat forum posting this same question. Also, Peter L has given you some good advice.

My own feeling is that a self described novice asking this question on 2 different forums, has no business starting out collecting radioactive mineral specimens. No if, ands or buts! There are sooooo many collectible minerals for a new collector to choose from, the radioactive examples should be collected only by those experienced collectors with proper prior experience and safe storage spaces.

Having said that, here are a few common sense suggestions. House your fully labeled examples in individual leucite plastic specimen boxes then put them in safe display cases or drawers. The display case should be safely out of the way and sturdy. The case should not be in a bedroom, near food or where children or large pets are around. Only handle the specimens occasionally and for a short time period. Replace them into the leucite and display case promptly. If your house is in an area where radon can be found in the basement, be well aware of that additional potential danger. Always wash hands promptly after handling the specimens.

Only with experience will these common sense rules become second nature. Until then leave radioactive specimens to museums, universities, and advanced collectors. And now I see you might store it in a shed??? What is the purpose of having a mineral collection, if only to have to safely store it out of the way in a shed that few people ever use??? Bizarre to my way of thinking.
BOB

[Xaranar]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I am aware I'm diving in at the deep end here, and I will heed your suggestions as it's better to err on the side of caution.

[alfredo]

I question how easy it is for radon to escape from massive uraninite, because the decay of uranium releases helium as well as radon and often the helium is still in there - It effervesces out when a uraninite crystal is dissolved in acid. So if the helium, which is a really really tiny atom, isn‘t escaping, how is the radon getting out?
It must be very different in the case of the pulverulent or flaky secondary uranium minerals with perfect cleavage - things like autunite, carnotite, tyuyamunite, etc - with those I can easily believe that radon is leaking out, but for solid uraninite or pitchblende I‘m skeptical.
Anyway, we all need to live in well ventilated houses, and then the problem goes away. And there are many good health reasons for increasing ventilation, apart from just the radon issue. (Easy for me to say, living in a warm desert, I know.) God help you poor fellows living in freezing climates with everything shut up tight... The fumes from new carpets, foam mattresses, plastic bags, wood fireplaces, frying foods... all worry me just as much as the radon. Everyone, ventilate! Your health is well worth the extra $100 a month in winter heating costs.

[Peter Lemkin]

[Kevin Schofield]

[Xaranar]

Haaaaa. Yes, I do live in Leeds, and I have the windows open year round.

[rweaver]

Just my two cents on the subject. I have several radioactive minerals from San Diego Co. in my collection and they are mounted labeled and on display with the rest of my collection, and have been for decades. I figure I have more issues with the 10 years I spent in the US Navy during the mid-70’s and 80’s. I was stationed on three ships with the newest being built in 1963. So that being said having knowingly being exposed to Lead Based Paint, Asbestos, PCB’s and other chemicals. To say nothing of living and working next to large nuclear missiles on one side and submarines on the other side. Also, a lot of us in here are old enough to have lived in houses with Lead Base Paint and Asbestos and are still alive today. So, I would have to say this is really a nonissue for most if not all collectors.