Elevated Uranium Levels in Black Rock Desert

Isotopia · Post by **Isotopia** » Mon May 23, 2011 5:08 pm

Elevated Uranium Levels in Black Rock Desert = Cancer

I love it when stupid rears its ugly, festering head. Often enough it gives rise to uncontrollable bouts of laughter. Certainly the case with the above post.

TurtleNut · Post by **TurtleNut** » Mon May 23, 2011 5:13 pm

Isotopia wrote:
Elevated Uranium Levels in Black Rock Desert = Cancer
I love it when stupid rears its ugly, festering head. Often enough it gives rise to uncontrollable bouts of laughter. Certainly the case with the above post.

Well you are stupid are you talking about yourself?

Rice · Post by **Rice** » Mon May 23, 2011 5:42 pm

TurtleNut wrote:
Isotopia wrote:
Elevated Uranium Levels in Black Rock Desert = Cancer
I love it when stupid rears its ugly, festering head. Often enough it gives rise to uncontrollable bouts of laughter. Certainly the case with the above post.
Well you are stupid are you talking about yourself?

What elevated levels of radiation?? What are you talking about?

I guess you should stay home now. It probably is safer there.

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Mon May 23, 2011 6:42 pm

It's a cult!!!

We all go to the dessert to die.

Isotopia · Post by **Isotopia** » Mon May 23, 2011 10:42 pm

Well you are stupid are you talking about yourself?

Oh gosh!

Darn!!!

Goodness me!!!!!

Looks like I'm confronted with the wickedly devastating I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I school of ribald retorts.

I'll never be able to win this exchange.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Tue May 24, 2011 6:55 am

Isotopia wrote:
Well you are stupid are you talking about yourself?
Oh gosh!

Darn!!!

Goodness me!!!!!

Looks like I'm confronted with the wickedly devastating I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I school of ribald retorts.

I'll never be able to win this exchange.

you may need to resort to the "BF" option

booger flick

teardropper · Post by **teardropper** » Tue May 24, 2011 8:28 am

stretch80 wrote:I guess you should stay home now. It probably is safer there.

Yes. Stay home. Dangerous place. Too many people. Not safe. And look who goes?

Always better to play it safe. This uranium level is just the latest in a line of really good reasons not to go to Black Rock City. Can't stress this enough.

Besides, next year was way better. Always was...

^Rhino! · Post by **^Rhino!** » Tue May 24, 2011 9:00 am

Good lord. You'd think that people would wake the fuck up.

Isotopia, good job at recognizing the reality of the situation. Indeed, most granites DO have uranium and transuranic minerals (albeit in small amounts) and they do get geothermally concentrated. I've only heard of just ONE case where there would have been sufficient uranium mineralization to support a natural reactor (Google Oklo, Gabon natural reactor and prepare to be surprised...I was) It died out when fuel was expended during the Precambrian Era, over 600 million years ago.

So there's Uranium in the water? So what of it? Gerlach is treating the water (and using rather expensive equipment, I might add) Kiddies, you'll get more radiation exposure on a sunny day than you will from drinking the
Kool-aid made with the water from Gerlach now.

I did note one thing, though:

"a lot of the petrified wood in that region is radioactive, as well. "

So it is in Arizona, too. Preserved pore space in the xylem of the wood which has been silicified provides a space for uranium and transuranic minerals to precipitate in trace amounts to small amounts.

Stuff like carnotite, tyuyamunite, and others. But there you're talking SEDIMENTARY rock, and not granite, which has even less translocation of minerals.

Geez.

**steps off soapbox**

^Rhino! · Post by **^Rhino!** » Tue May 24, 2011 9:00 am

Good lord. You'd think that people would wake the fuck up.

Isotopia, good job at recognizing the reality of the situation. Indeed, most granites DO have uranium and transuranic minerals (albeit in small amounts) and they do get geothermally concentrated. I've only heard of just ONE case where there would have been sufficient uranium mineralization to support a natural reactor (Google Oklo, Gabon natural reactor and prepare to be surprised...I was) It died out when fuel was expended during the Precambrian Era, over 600 million years ago.

So there's Uranium in the water? So what of it? Gerlach is treating the water (and using rather expensive equipment, I might add) Kiddies, you'll get more radiation exposure on a sunny day than you will from drinking the
Kool-aid made with the water from Gerlach now.

I did note one thing, though:

"a lot of the petrified wood in that region is radioactive, as well. "

So it is in Arizona, too. Preserved pore space in the xylem of the wood which has been silicified provides a space for uranium and transuranic minerals to precipitate in trace amounts to small amounts.

Stuff like carnotite, tyuyamunite, and others. But there you're talking SEDIMENTARY rock, and not granite, which has even less translocation of minerals.

Geez.

**steps off soapbox**

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Tue May 24, 2011 9:05 am

^Rhino! wrote:Kiddies, you'll get more radiation exposure on a sunny day...

And nobody gets skin cancer.

^Rhino! · Post by **^Rhino!** » Tue May 24, 2011 9:08 am

And nobody gets skin cancer?

Hm.

Dude.

Ever hear of SPF30 or better?

Use it.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Tue May 24, 2011 9:36 am

Okay Rhino!

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue May 24, 2011 10:24 am

Come on, Dougly, this is advice from experience.

Of course, in your case we're talking about:

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Tue May 24, 2011 11:03 am

Whoa, that bit of sweet baboon hiney was NSFW! You should have posted a warning! My boss baboon came over here and said: "OOoohhHH! Ughghghh!" and nearly bit off my ear.

But it was worth it.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Tue May 24, 2011 11:47 am

Ugly Dougly wrote:Whoa, that bit of sweet baboon hiney was NSFW! You should have posted a warning! My boss baboon came over here and said: "OOoohhHH! Ughghghh!" and nearly bit off my ear.

But it was worth it.

well, at least he didn't twist your ear and bid you "squeal like a piggy"............

Isotopia · Post by **Isotopia** » Tue May 24, 2011 12:22 pm

uranium and transuranic minerals to precipitate in trace amounts to small amounts.

Are you not confusing actinides for transuranics? Because I've always been under the impression that 'transuranic' suggests elements in the periodic chart of the elements that extends beyond uranium. I also believe that all of those elements do in fact come about by artificial means such as nuclear fission and proton bombardment (ie. accelerated transmutation.) That being the case transuranic isotopes occurring in nature would suggest a man made component such as what we do see in weapons testing.

Actinides on the other hand are all over the place in nature.

^Rhino! · Post by **^Rhino!** » Tue May 24, 2011 1:59 pm

Yes, I said transuranics when I meant actinides. The only occurrence I know of of a transuranic element occurring in nature is the residual plutonium left over at Oklo in Gabon from the natural reactor there that died out during the Precambrian.

Thanks for the correction/clarification.

Foxfur · Post by **Foxfur** » Sat May 28, 2011 6:01 am

I'll bring a survey meter...

^Rhino! · Post by **^Rhino!** » Sat May 28, 2011 3:24 pm

Protocol:

When was the last time that unit was checked and certified as a detector, and by whom?

That's an important question to ask if we're talking any legal standing for results and whatever.

Snow · Post by **Snow** » Sat May 28, 2011 6:26 pm

Isotopia's talk is making me hard as a rock

Foxfur · Post by **Foxfur** » Sat May 28, 2011 8:59 pm

^Rhino! wrote:Protocol:

When was the last time that unit was checked and certified as a detector, and by whom?

That's an important question to ask if we're talking any legal standing for results and whatever.

I think the last time I calibrated it was March 2010 using a
New England Nuclear (Inc.) chlorine 36 standard,
Ludlum 500 pulser,
HP 3457A 5 place lab DMM,
and a Sony AFG320 arbitrary function generator.
The source and inst's are all NIST traceable.
I was the scientific instrument engineer at an animal research center.
I did cal's on many types of instruments, not just survey
meters, to satisfy NSF & NIH grant requirements.
Not to mention simple matters like accuracy and safety, bah!

The NaI scintillation detector head isn't what I'd prefer
to use on the playa as I'd rather have a true GM head,
but you go with what you take home, eh?
When I was laid off, they told me to clean out the shop.
Oh yeah, I cleaned that fucker out real good, fucking fuckity fuck fuckers.

My position was funded entirely by an NIH 07 grant.
The economy tanked so now I mine gold,
do some locksmithing, gunsmithing, and electronics repair and
generally not look for another job

.

As far as legal and schtuff, nah. I just want to cross check
between playa dirt and a few samples gathered on the
way and do some uranium prospecting on the way home.
I'm a gun toting, meat eating, flag waving science nerd.
I'm into debunking stuff, too! Ignorance is so 17th century...

Ff

Foxfur · Post by **Foxfur** » Sat May 28, 2011 9:05 pm

Snow wrote:Isotopia's talk is making me hard as a rock

I thought it was just me!
I'm gonna go take a cold shower...

^Rhino! · Post by **^Rhino!** » Sun May 29, 2011 1:59 pm

"As far as legal and schtuff, nah. I just want to cross check
between playa dirt and a few samples gathered on the
way and do some uranium prospecting on the way home.
I'm a gun toting, meat eating, flag waving science nerd.
I'm into debunking stuff, too! Ignorance is so 17th century..."

Glad to hear it. I'm a flag waving meat eating scientist type myself. I also love to debunk awful science.

**snicker**

you said playa dirt....you need compositional data on that? Primarily quartz, calcite, and halloysite clay - gypsum on the trace side.

paspoil · Post by **paspoil** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 5:44 pm

Hello fellow Burners,
A certain ''Godfather'' from a reknowned camp showed me what ''Black Rock'' really meant by handing me a little black rock picked up from the ground (half a inch in size) and i'm wearing it now yearound my neck but after hearing those horror stories, i doubt it was a good idea....
Don't you think ? Can anyone reply to this for the sake of us all please ?

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 6:42 pm

Whatever it is, it's not gneiss.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 8:42 pm

You're fine. Don't freak out so easy. Safety third, don't you know.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 10:32 pm

Bob wrote:Whatever it is, it's not gneiss.

and, don't take anything for granite.

jella · Post by **jella** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 10:52 pm

ygmir wrote:
Bob wrote:Whatever it is, it's not gneiss.
and, don't take anything for granite.

[youtube][/youtube]

Foxfur · Post by **Foxfur** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 11:37 pm

That cursed talisman may give you an STD like chalcedony. After that tuff schist!
Good luck...

Seriously though,

Do not be confused by my strange technology.
Bring that demon stone to Terminal City and look for a freak barbarian with a pink Hello Kitty AK-47. That is me. I am a professional, I know about these things. Although I no longer work for the government, I am still here to help.
Not only can I tell you if your voodoo seed of evil is harming you, I can check your thyroid for elevated levels of I-129!
Previous to the alternate reality that is ePlaya, my colleagues called me The Maniacal Doctor Fox (for obvious reasons). You will be in good, if not sticky, hands.

EspressoDude · Post by **EspressoDude** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 6:04 am

Ff: you may get a lot of takers if you adjust the shape of the red cap to something phallic that you can roll comdoms onto...====> ~ ~

Elevated Uranium Levels in Black Rock Desert

Ooops

Saluting Foxfur for being one of the intelligent beings left

black rock as a necklace; safe ?