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Uranium


Alpo

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Do you suppose raw uranium ore is radioactive enough to harm someone?

 

This just popped into my head, for some reason. Back in the fifties uranium prospecting was a big thing. People would go wandering all around the west with a geiger counter, hoping to strike it rich.

 

And if they did it anything like gold prospecting or silver prospecting, when they found their ore samples they would put them in a bag which they would keep in their pocket. Didn't want to leave it laying around somewhere - it was worth money.

 

Just wondered if there were any prospectors that nuked themselves like that.

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Harm anyone?  Back then we didn’t have boat loads of government oversight agencies to protect us.  Today we’re warned not to eat the food, drink the water or breath the air if we want live a healthy life.

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I always used mercury to look for uranium. Just pour it on the ground and follow it. When the mercury came to a stop, just scoop it up with a soup spoon. Dig around, get the uranium, toss it in your shirt pocket and head for the Uranium Trade Exchange. No problemo.

 

Come home with a few extra bucks in your pocket and a real shiny spoon.

 

No side effects at all as far as I can tell.

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The Navajo tribe here has had a lot of poisening from the mines.

                                                                                                             Largo

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When Louis Lamour was diagnosed with lung cancer, he opined that, since he never smoked, it could have come from "mucking" about in uranium mines.  Don't forget, radon gas is a biproduct of uranium, and there is a lot of that in the western mountains.  People should have their homes inspected for radon gas, and take steps in mitigating it!

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Uranium ore, when it was refined and turned into "Yellow Cake", became a thing for some in Elliott Lake to keep a piece of it beside their bed, on their night table, because it gave off a nice glow in the dark.

No connection to higher than average cancer statistics though.

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The uranium mines around here have caused the deaths of hundreds of miners over the years. Back in the day there were very few safety standards in the mines. Most are closed now. It’s common to see old guys in town with their oxygen generators over their shoulders. And it’s not all from smoking. As Largo mentioned, it’s particularly bad on the Navajo Rez. A large amount iof birth defects as well. Bad stuff.

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