Uranium Found Using EPA Map in Poison Canyon New Mexico

While I was out visiting the Trinity Site this year I stopped by Grants, New Mexico to do a quick exploration of the Poison Canyon uranium mining area. I looked at this specific area because of an EPA report I read that had some aerial radiological surveys done. So I was curious as to how radioactive these areas would be and what the quality of the uranium would be there that I could easily find in the ore dumps. I'm planning on coming back to the area again to do a more detailed exploration when I have the time.
If you are looking for some uranium ore check out uraniumstore.com

[@jeffreygarrett3470]

I live in New Mexico and as ive gotten older I've been wanting to go exploring more of these sites .

[@enchantedcrafter3010]

I live in New Mexico too

[@pilotdane]

I love the comments about the background level. It really tells where you live and explore versus where I am in central/eastern NC where the background level at night is something less than 10 counts per minute and rarely hits 20 during the day.

[@astrobouncer487]

I took some readings in uSv/h and was averaging .10 back ground level at my house in blue ridge SC. In exposed granite nearby, the readings jumped to .25 uSv/h with a peak of .35 at one location nearby with loose soil. I plan on checking the nearby placer deposits, as I know there is thorium and monzonite there which should give a good reading. Thinking about starting up a youtube channel for my adventures.

[@LS1LE]

I have really enjoyed watching your content. It started with the decommissioning video, and has expanded. Great work!!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks.

[@englishguy1985]

Thanks for the great content Andrew.

[@metallusmelandril7380]

I am a nuclear physicist and rlllly love your vids! But idd appreciate to have you not only measure the cpms, but also some Sivert. This is much better comparable and better to calculate with :) And holy crap you’re cinematography is spot on!

[@zacharynicholson5285]

To

[@EvilScientist]

using a pancake probe geiger counter, using sieverts is very inaccurate

[@martynewport]

I love deserts and nature, uranium adds a new dimension of excitement to it. Thanks for good videos.

[@radioactive_disco5363]

My son and I are going to visit this area over Labor Day weekend! Absolutely stoked. Your videos are just the best! Come to tour the Radioactive Southwest!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

It’s a cool place to explore. Be careful as the roads can be very tricky out there and you can get stuck.

[@cynthiajcandelaria6667]

I grew up in that area and I can tell you that the Uranium pilings left on the side of the road were 15 ft. high in some areas. Left there for many years by Kerr McGee Mining Corp. As children, we used to play King of the Mountain on top of these pilings. It wasn't the Aquafor that was contaminated at first, but the Rio Puerco River that ran at a very close range from these pilings soon contaminated the river when it rained the runoff quickly poured right into it. All our livestock were becoming tragically ill from the exposure as well as the people that lived off the river and depended on it for drinking and cooking. It was a very traumatic event when we noticed the river water's color had changed dramatically and we didn't know why our sheep were being born deformed or very sick and died. Kerr McGee burned the people settling with them for damages for just thousands of dollars. These were very poor and desperate people and were easily persuaded. and took the money offered to them. Very sickening. Do you Mr. even know the details before you make such bland assumptions? You know nada!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I know the biggest threat from mining of any kind is the chemical exposure from some mining operations. I have no doubt that the mining in that area had some increase in the pollution the rivers saw. Like I said in the video that uranium and radium was already in the water sources before mining ever occurred there. The chemicals used to process uranium...like different acids and different carbonate leaching could contaminate the water around these areas. So the health problems people and animals could be experiencing might be coming from those chemicals and not from the presence of those naturally occurring radioactive materials.

[@psynurse]

Wow..... Be nice

[@Rcguy2591]

Karen

[@ritchieblackmore2711]

Great video Drew thanks...

[@JOlivier2011]

I wanna echo all the "great content' comments. Very smooth editing. Great audio, lovely camera work. Very relaxing and interesting topics and places.

[@KG84C]

Great content, and what a stunning landscape. Well done, from Western Australia.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks.

[@kmagnussen1052]

FYI: Check out times are negotiable. I am a herpetologist and look for snakes on the road in the desert all night. I ask for a late check out and I have been given check out as late as 4 pm.

[@OutlawTwo]

This is a pretty cool looking place. It's been years since I was at Trinity last. It was amazing to see history there.. I suppose a leap forward in technology. I'd love to go visit one of these places again, though I imagine my dog would need more protection than I would.

[@TheRopeAddict]

I give your show a glowing report.

[@joecat916]

I love the part about the gates, living in the country it is an unofficial rite/law to shut the gate, account of cattle. I knew of a wise old farmer (R.I.P) who locked his gate with a simple metal puzzle (Actually. Really) he gave me fallen trees, he showed me twice how to undo the metal puzzle. It took me a half-hour to figure it out. How novel and wise!

[@weirdmeisterinc]

as always-great video!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks.

[@AtomicElectronCo]

That's a HOT ROCK. VERY NICE SAMPLES out in the open on the surface! Sweet! Nice find, sir. I wonder is it called "Poison Canyon" after the fact of the ore being there or just an ironic coincidence? Also, good to note that we also have Uranium in the water supply here in Northern AZ. This has always been here as long as they've had water in Kingman and Bullhead as far as I know. Wherever it has come from, many natives like the Navajo and the European/American settlers suffered a great deal from Uranium associated Kidney and Lung disease. One should always respect radioactive isotopes!

[@AtomicElectronCo]

I noticed that there is also another EPA survey site in that document to the south west a bit. All over the place. Did you chose the north eastern site specifically or just random access? very interesting indeed.

[@lptf5441]

There are places in Australia where Uranium ore is found out in the open naturally, and the first people's of Australia knew very well to avoid them entirely. They would give them names that indicated they were "sick" places, and would create rock paintings to warn others of the dangers, some of which are thousands of years old.

[@Chironex_Fleckeri]

There's chemotoxicity. Uranium is very toxic without the radioactivity factored in. So it should be treated like handling lead . Can easily be inhaled if you kick up dust.

[@adelinyoungmark1929]

the name comes not from uranium, but actually selenium poisoning. a farmer noticed his animals were getting sick, and low and behold they ate plants with too much selenium in them.

[@FerociousPancake888]

Fantastic content. Your channel mission is awesome and you’re doing great work here!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks I really appreciate it.

[@greenthumz1]

Mining operations create more tunnels, cracks, and fissures than were there before, increasing the surface area the rock can come into contact with water. So yes, mining operations could have released more contamination into the water table than was there before.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Doubtful, there are way more deposits that have never been mined that come into contact with ground water than have been mined, especially with uranium. If you want to talk about chemical contamination from mill sites then that would be a much different discussion. Or how mill tailings can contaminate an area with uranium and radium isotopes.

[@jk-76]

The water there is contaminated. Not far from there was a place called Anaconda. They processed the ore into yellowcake and the tailings were massive open ponds.

[@HurleyDeanSandpoint]

Love your videos. Keep up the good work. I would love to own a Radeye B20. However, it is out of my price range.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks. The Radeye is expensive but worth it for what I'm doing. I'm going to make a video talking about the Radeye and what makes it kind of worth the $2,000+ price tag.

[@marauderhot]

Can you do a video of what the numbers mean? Like a #, = how many x-rays would it be or the danger level. Great videos.

[@SWEETBINKY]

Love to watch your formative videos. Would it be possible to utilize the mSivert scale the next time you go out scouting? I use a gamma scout detector and read that either rotogens or micro siverts show the decay rate strength rather than the counts per second or per minute.

[@astrobouncer487]

Yes I second this, would be great!

[@leonardmichaelwrinch446]

Thanks Drew ‼️great episode 👍those were some hot samples, do they glow under black light❓

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I haven’t checked to be honest. I have a huge piece of autinite I need to clean and prep for the website. I was going to do a video about it because it looks like a huge piece of kryptonite under UV.

[@DanyDM_98]

Excellent video as always. It's a shame you only have a thousand subscribers.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I agree. I’m slowly getting more each day.

[@AtomicElectronCo]

Gotta start somewhere. The people who subscribe to you like myself, are pretty solid and loyal. That's the kind of base you want to launch from, I'd say.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I couldn’t agree more.

[@shadabdadkhan9238]

Very excellent VDO Perfect best

[@Korium84]

3 months later.....14.1k :)

[@KarldorisLambley]

Blimey! Another amazing video. It is stuff of this quality which made me cancel my TV license (I am English). thanks drew. DA

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Glad you are liking the videos. I have a bunch more coming out. I hope one day I can make enough income from making these videos for this to be my full time job.

[@JamsheedRpgGodBoss]

Oi, you got a loicense for that tellie

[@kl4888]

What is the yellow on the rocks you picked up. We were near some old gold mines near the Phoenix valley and found a rock with yellow (absolutely not gold😂) on one side, thought it was sulfur.

[@bltc11]

I had an experience at Poison Canyon in the summer of 2020 and stayed at a motel in Grants just as you did. I had a local guy lined up that was going to go with me as a guide. Anyway, after I arrived something had come up and he couldn’t go so he told me where to go and said it was BLM land therefore okay to prospect on. From Grants I drove out hwy 605 and turned left on county road 23 a dirt road that runs right through the middle of Poison Canyon. It was fenced and gated on both sides of the road and all the gates had locks. In one place I found an opening between fence posts that I was able to squeeze through and I did find a few rocks that were mildly radioactive but nothing as good as what you found. It wasn’t a great experience because I kept looking around expecting a local sheriff to arrest me or something for being on private property. It would be good it BLM land could be identified by signage. I have read that sometimes locals will put locks on gates that should be accessible. I would like to go back sometime but would like to know I was actually on BLM land. Were you near county road 23? Great video!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I was off of Forest Service Rd 450. The road was pretty good and easy for a while but there are a couple areas where you could get stuck very easily crossing some narrow washes. I think you were more Northwest than I was.

[@bltc11]

Thanks for the info.

[@videomejoe]

Nothing like inhaling all that radioactive dust in your lungs

[@jovetj]

So what does the sign 3:05 on the gate that you're conveniently blocking 2:50 read? 😛

[@zr7699]

Hey could I go mine enough to then cause problems. Just curious.

[@jj358mhz]

Drew, do you have a video discussing the equipment you use, most notably, your Geiger counter?

[@ebbflow]

Pretty sure he's using a radeye b20.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I’m working on a video right now.

[@metallusmelandril7380]

@@ebbflow yup Expensive but excellent

[@ad2181]

Thank you.

[@10p6]

What was the big sign you were blocking (hiding) on the green gate?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

It was a sign that had faded over the years. I couldn’t make out what it said.

[@inductor1.77]

Youre videos are awesome man. Im prospecting for rare earth elements in canada right now and using a scintillometer/geiger counter.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

That sounds like fun.

[@howardlyman]

Great location for prospecting. I found some pretty spicy tailings that are around 6000 to 13,000 CPM, from one of the old mining sites there in Poison Canyon about 3 years ago. I brought home a five gallon bucket full that I keep, marked in an outside work shed.

[@stevengill1736]

With a name like "Poison Canyon", you know it's going to be interesting!

[@wbnomo7590]

Again, another outstanding video. Hopefully you made the motel connection in time, don't want to see you and the Mrs. on Cops TV.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I made it back with time to spare.

[@ancientegyptandthebible]

Explorer cartographers identified that certain areas would not have been safe through toponym. This is why they called the area "Poison Canyon."

[@tireballastserviceofflorid7771]

There is a huge difference between uranium locked in stone compared to a lose tailings pile. The tailings have exponentially more surface area. As well as water can pass through at an exponential rate. And the blasting and refining process unlockes the uranium into dust that much more readily gets into the ground.

[@tireballastserviceofflorid7771]

@Gus C. Yes to both. It most definitely dissolves faster. Millions of times more surface area. Water soaking in and freezing or even just wing blowing the grains around bashing them. This is not a new area of science. It is well documented the problems with unlocking nuclear materials. This guy is literally thousands of times more likely to develop lung cancer. Being around the tailings pile with obvious uranium walking on it stiring up dust. It gets in the lungs very easily. Killed thousands of miners amd family members. Just by washing the mining close at home contaminated the whole house. All proven documented fact.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

It sounds like you don’t know much about uranium. It’s fine to be out there walking around picking pieces up. If you’re creating a dusty environment down in a mine working on a deposit then some type of dust mask would be a good idea.

[@tireballastserviceofflorid7771]

@@RadioactiveDrew OK Dr. Drew. Ever done any research on the topic other than KZbin? You understand that asbestos stays in your lungs indefinitely causing mesothelioma. Silicoses comes from breathing silica sand. Now if a fiber and an insoluble mineral can stay in the lung leading to inflammation and cancer decades after injestion. What makes you think uranium particulates don't do the exact same thing? Go to the library and do some reading. You will be stunned at the quality of the information. Cancer clusters around uranium mines and their families is long known.

[@diyautoschool]

Whats the difference between KCPM vs CPM

[@RadioactiveDrew]

KCPM is thousands of counts per minute and CPM is counts per minute.

[@BruceComer]

Where do you get these EPA reports?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I don’t have the links in front of me at the moment. But you should be able to find the report doing a search for Poison Canyon uranium radiation survey…something like that.

[@susanolson3611]

What happens to the animals who live around there?

[@seviercountygunclub7529]

Now this was cool. My backpack would have been full.

[@TI4438]

Would those rocks be noticeably warmer than others that weren't radioactive?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I’ve wondered that myself. The radiation can cause things to heat up or the object itself. But usually that is very intense radiation that does that.

[@JulietHotelFoxtrot]

What's the equivalent mR/hr in your counts per minute?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Well for uranium that's kind of tricky since a lot of what I'm measuring is alpha, beta and some gamma radiation. I think mR is more of a dose reserved for gamma exposure.

[@pizzafrenzyman]

Very exciting

[@elchicharron9503]

Hard to tell from the video, are those zippeite/uranopilite specimens or uranophane?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Excellent question. I didn’t look up the geology of that area before hand so I’m not sure. I’m sure there is some way to tell. From what I could tell in that area it seemed like the uranium ore was extremely close to the surface. I didn’t see any mine shafts or drifts. Of course I was only there for a couple hours so not a lot of time to explore.

[@vincetalancon604]

Hey Drew I really like your videos. I have a few questions I am still so new to this. All the information I have is from videos on here. A few questions I have is. Say I have a ore sample that’s 1000CPM. how long would I have to say hold it look at it. With rubber gloves on and a face mask to stop the dust. Before the radiation could affect me. ? Thanks I plan on keeping it in a Lead Pig too

[@RadioactiveDrew]

1000 CPM is very low activity for uranium ore. It would take a very long time for any type of effect to manifest.

[@vincetalancon604]

@@RadioactiveDrew okay thanks keep up the great videos

[@AtomicElectronCo]

That's a hello of a motivator for time.....wife and kids at the hotel!!! Nice. Please come visit us in AZ, Drew. I would love to show you the Red Cliffs mine site...surface Uranium all over the place! My wife and I would love to host you. Cheers. Christian.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks man. I’ll try and take you up on your offer. Might be heading out that way in a month or so…maybe. Depends on the weather.

[@AtomicElectronCo]

@@RadioactiveDrew Fantastic. There are also a ton of EPA sites near Cameron that I have yet to explore yet, but the site near Globe will not disappoint...it is also quite ironic and interesting. I emailed you some info...and yes...weather right now is no good. Too hot..too wet. But maybe in Sept or whatever..like you say. We'll see! Cheers.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Yeah I want to check out Cameron and that area. September might work out.

[@AtomicElectronCo]

@@RadioactiveDrew Very good. Will keep in touch. Keep an eye on your email. Sent u some info. More today.

[@UniquelyCritical]

Your videos are pretty interesting. Did you go to school for film? How'd you get these editing and speaking skills?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Glad you are enjoying the videos. I didn’t go to film school. I’ve been making videos since I was 8 years old. So I’ve had a bit of practice. I’ve spent a lot of time making short films, mainly timelapse videos that did pretty well. I’ve also worked on movies and commercials shooting timelapse.

[@TonyaJeanSkillman]

Hate that you were in a hurry and seeming disgruntled the whole time…made me anxious

[@RadioactiveDrew]

You and me both. I don’t like being in a hurry when exploring a new location. I’m hoping I can go back there again and have plenty of time to see everything.

[@ChrisG1392]

Can you sell this stuff?

[@limaechonumismatics]

I’m curious about the hot rock with 112000 CPM. I did some conversions and I resulted with 22400 μSv/hr. In one video you said one dental x ray gives you a dose of 5 μSv. So how dangerous is the rock you show in this video? If you held it for an hour would you really receive the equivalent of 4480 dental x rays? Although my math may be completely wrong I’m new to learning about this stuff 😅

[@John-go3kt]

Cpm doesn’t necessarily correlate to dose rate. The rock posses little danger to people unless ingested or inhaled.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Exactly. Keep it out of your body and you’ll be good.

[@jastrapper190]

Hey Drew this might seem odd but do you know anything about yellow cake? I was a Marine Infantryman stationed in western Iraq. If you look on a map where the Euphrates River enters Iraq from Syria you might find Al Qaim. I’m not sure of all of the history of the area but I believe it was the location of a Sadam Hussein attempt at nuclear energy. Maybe before the Iran Iraq war. Not sure on all the history there. I have photographs of these huge dump truck loads of yellow material all around the train station near Al Qaim. As far as the eye could see in some cases. All spaced apart in the desert. I believe there is also a fertilizer plant a few miles from the train station (or at least that is what we were told). I was always curious about that area and if that was indeed “yellow cake” or some other byproduct from it’s production. And if so, were those piles hazardous? Lol.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I doesn’t sound like yellow cake because of how they stored it. Might have been sulfur as that would be stored like that. Usually yellow cake uranium is stored in 50-55 gallon drums and sealed because it’s valuable.

[@jastrapper190]

@@RadioactiveDrew I think it might have been byproduct material from the refining process. Not sure.

[@jastrapper190]

@@RadioactiveDrew I don’t know if it was being stored or not. Maybe it was material that was set to be refined. I got the impression that it was just waste material. Because it was just dumped onto the ground in the desert from what appeared to be a dump truck of some sort. Like you said if it was a valuable material and not waste it would have been properly stored. But then again this was Iraq… the civilians within a few miles of this area have open air sewer “rivers” for sanitary systems and many are still traditional nomadic tribesman that don’t acknowledge the Iraqi government and prolly have life expectancy consistent with life 500 years ago. I did research that Iraq did refine Uranium in that are with yellow cake. I did some googling. Who knows.

[@Ixquick979]

If cattle grazes there does it get poisoned from pieces of rock and soil that it ingests accidentally while eating grass? What about people that consume its milk and meat?

[@ArashiinStormdragon]

My dream to get out to a place like this to go prospecting. Bit of a trip from MN though. Meant to message you about the Thermo detectors as well; I just picked up a B20-ER and sent it over to “Occupational Services Inc.” for a full inspection and calibration, amazingly fast and great communication if you ever need someone to work on your detector. They contract with Thermo, but will respond to your emails in about a day, instead of in a month (if at all). Check ‘em out.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks. I’ll check them out.

[@AtomicElectronCo]

Great info, Ara! Did you get a quote from them? I also have a RadEye B20 and would like to get it calibrated. I did call them and they say they'll reach back out later today with a quote. I hope it's not too insane! They're likely used to companies or government organizations that have budgets.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Oh yeah, they nickel and dime you pretty good on everything. But at least the equipment is pretty durable.

[@ArashiinStormdragon]

@@AtomicElectronCo Sorry for the long silence! KZbin doesn’t let me know about comments on my comments. OccServ assessed $89 for calibration, which is wholly reasonable for a $1000+ device. Turnaround time was fabulously quick, and they included a full breakdown of sensitivities and tolerance ranges. Well worth it.

[@Koolkole27]

Can you find the most radioactive water sources that people drink from?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I’m working on one that deals with ground water in general and in places that have a higher than normal uranium / radium content in the water sources.

[@Koolkole27]

@@RadioactiveDrew neat.

[@MiamiMillionaire]

I believe that the groundwater can be affected by the residues of mining, it does make a difference whether it is still inbeddet in the rock or is scattered over a large area where is subject to erosion

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I don’t think so. If you think about how much is still in ground vs how much is above. Also the water is still traveling through uranium…less now that it has been removed.

[@jwhoward182]

Miners also smoked cigs - those dudes got cancer, without exception. I knew some who left in the mid 80’s.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Yeah, that’s one of the problems with the EPA report on radon. They don’t make too many distinctions between people that smoke and ones that didn’t.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

The subject of radon is an interesting one. I’ve read a couple of DOE and EPA reports on the general subject of radon and what their findings were. I’m planning on doing a more in-depth video about this subject as it fascinates me. I believe the public has been misled about radiation exposure and about dangers surrounding it.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Chemical exposure isn't the same as radiation exposure. Also what I know isn't wishful thinking as you put it. I've visited dozens of sites with varying level of radiation and contamination. So I've seen a lot of different conditions and experienced them first hand. The DOE report is what all the other reports look back to because they have the data on radon exposure, cancer and how doses are related to incidents of cancer. I requested the document that has all the research the DOE did. So I have all the data on how the EPA came up with their whole decision on radon exposure in the home. My interest isn't only in mining. My interest is in showing people that radiation isn't something to be feared but understood. You were right about something though...there is a bias from the EPA but its going in the opposite direction than what you are thinking. The EPA created a billion dollar industry over night when they declared radon a carcinogen. The public has been extremely misled on this whole thing because the EPA fails to mention that ALL of the incidents of cancer from radon exposure are from miners ONLY. They say right in the beginning or the report, "This information would be appropriate for predicting the risks to the public if everyone was a miner, everyone lived in mines, and a large fraction of the general population smoked cigarettes." This quote is taken directly from the DOE report in the introduction. I going to do a video about this report and radon exposure. I've already done one video about radon but I feel its a subject that needs to be further explained.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

If you want to learn more about radon and how most of what the EPA says about it is extremely misleading check out this video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioq9mJ-Ln7F4Zrs

[@onyxpartitian]

I was reading Canadian Cancer Society they have their stat at %16 of lung cancer due to radon and the leading cause in non smokers, but don't know how to find the research associated with that claim. I know radon is a problem in my area due to the natural uranium deposits around and other geology in the area.

[@burtony3]

You can filter at least the Radon (tends to come from Granite springs) from drinking water with a Carbon filter. Of course then you have a screaming hot Carbon filter...

[@OliverWolters]

7:30 - It's probably not just about the radon. Even with perfect ventilation, when processing uranium ore dust is produced. Back in the 50s and 60s there wasn't so much safety measures for the workers and those poor lads inhaled a lot of the radioactive dust. This problem has happened basically in every uranium mine of that time period even until today, all over the world. And by the way, the same goes for uninformed tourists climbing and hiking in those radioactive ore dumps. Even small amounts of inhaled dust can cause lung cancer, even years or decades after visiting those sites. Stay safe, and thanks for highly informational videos like this!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Visiting an old uranium mining site and working in one is very different exposure. Going to a site and exploring it isn't going to increase your risk of cancer. You have a greater risk of getting cancer from radiation by flying.

[@OliverWolters]

@@RadioactiveDrew, I agree with you, as long as long as ppl. just walk around, enjoy the scenery, take some pictures and stuff like that. But if someone starts climbing up those ore dumps and dig in the dust for some nice souvenirs to take home it's a different kind of ball game. Breathing in that dust isn't something I would recommend at all ;-)

[@RadioactiveDrew]

@@OliverWolters most of the ore dumps that I climb on aren't very dusty. So breathing in uranium ore dust isn't something I worry about. Now if I'm using a hammer and chisel on a uranium deposit then I use a respirator to keep from breathing that in.

[@biggboi1025]

Can Thorium ores be found in the US?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Yes. Rare earth deposits can have thorium. I would have a hard time telling the difference between the two. Other than uranium has some very distinct characteristics…like the yellow, black and green colors of the ore.

[@AtomicElectronCo]

Look (enough) and you will find them! All kinds of things out there. When you first discover them, it's quite exciting!

[@terencegalati970]

You can protect your meter by wrapping in plastic wrap. If you get radioactive dust inside, it will throw off your background readings in the future. Yes, your alpha and beta readings will be reduced, but you are just scouting for the hot rocks. I would bring a laminated chart with you in the field so you can point to the levels. Lot's of charts available on the web. I would also bag up your field clothes before you leave the site. Then compare them to your clean clothes when you get home. You could wear a Covid mask as well and see if it gets hot. A video on EPA radiation exposure limits and a discussion "No Limit Zero Threshold" radiation model would be helpful.

[@Chironex_Fleckeri]

He's no BioNerd23 but we know he means well and knows enough to do some interesting videos.

[@johnathankain8033]

Is it not a worry that some of this will break off / get dust into your body? Maybe its just not enough radioactivity to worry about. Obviously the alpha won't penetrate the dead skin layer but inside the body is more worrying no?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Alpha radiation can do some damage in the body but you have to look at the activity. If its low its not a threat. If you have a large quantity pf polonium 210, a very active alpha emitter...and are unfortunate enough to ingest it, you could die. Uranium might seem scary but as far as dangerous sources its kind of at the bottom. If your constantly being exposed to uranium dust and breathing it in that can cause some problems. I've read that uranium has a very similar chemical toxicity to lead...and most people know how bad that is for you.

[@mxcannondale5]

soooo what did the sign on the green gate say? 😁

[@RadioactiveDrew]

The real question is what did it use to say? Because there was nothing on it that was legible.

[@LittleGreenFire]

RIP headphone users thanks to this rock

[@aerobiesizer3968]

Amazing! This really makes me want to go out there and find ore like that to bring home and refine. Any idea how much of that ore was uranium by weight?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I’m not sure what percentage by weight was uranium.

[@RicardoVanHouten]

why do you wanna refine it?, keep it in the stone

[@Techno_Idioto]

@@RicardoVanHouten Plus, uh..you *really* don't want to piss off the feds. One guy posted a video about him refining some uranium into yellowcake and it ended up earning him a visit from the Feds.

[@noodlelynoodle.]

@@RicardoVanHouten because making uranium glass woild be an awesome project

[@ScottyDMcom]

Is it radon that caused the lung cancer, or rock dust containing uranium and all those lovely decay products of uranium?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

If you’re a uranium miner I would be concerned about that.

[@johnoconnor431]

I have the GMC-300E Plus Geiger

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I haven't played around with that one yet. But I think you could easily find uranium with it.

[@tigertiger1699]

Cheers…🙏🙏🙏

[@woof3598]

and its not dangerous to handle ?

[@MiniTaleTerritory]

Hey Drew. There are some closer places. I live very close to these areas.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I was looking for an area more off the beaten path. But next time I'm out that way I'm planning on going to some of those closer mining areas.

[@MiniTaleTerritory]

@@RadioactiveDrew Let me know when you come out. I can help you with a couple of sites.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

@@MiniTaleTerritory thanks. I'll try and remember that next time I'm out that way.

[@chapter4travels]

@@MiniTaleTerritory I'm going to the Bluewater Lake state park in a couple weeks and was hoping to explore a uranium mine. I went to the Los Ocho mine south of Gunnison Colorado about 2 weeks ago and found some mildly radioactive samples. Care to share some locations near the state park?

[@MiniTaleTerritory]

@@chapter4travels Are you wanting to collect rocks?

[@johnoconnor431]

I dont have a car just got it to check things around Bend,Oregon

[@RadioactiveDrew]

There might be something around there.

[@ardennielsen3761]

8:20 filter the oar using nitric acid... old way, manually crushing it by hand and hand picking out sand stone flakes...

[@ardennielsen3761]

a slow process naturally occurring via thunder and lighting storms, dissolving it and barring it back into the core where at 3 to 5 miles decomposes to pressure and temperature to uranium + N2 + O2 +H2O gas cracking the rock "easy to pry apart sediment lairs" making heat even causing deep earth geyser in the rock, many salts in the ocean exposed to nitric acid from storms generate heat in the earth once the compounds find there way onto the floor and begin compaction, some make it as far as 35 or 40 miles before they explosively decompose naturally. uranium to the weather conditions in chemistry doesn't allow it's self to be berried, as so Jupiter is a super sized example of this electrostatic to chemical decomposition heat generating cycle caused by a slight disturbance in gravity from it's moon's. replicated in an enclosed system "tank loop" using a heating rod and heat extractors etc...

[@swirrllfolfsky9803]

With the carnotite just right on the surface of the flood channel/stream bed there, I'm not surprised at all that there's radioactive elements in the water table. Anybody who says it's just because of mining is either ignorant, malicious, or delusional

[@RadioactiveDrew]

People try and sell all kinds of things to people that don’t know any better. Once you understand geology and how water flows through all those uranium bearing formation, it’s easy to understand why there is uranium and radium in the ground water.

[@KMondy]

Why do this?

[@aramirez8427]

The place is where the hills have eyes....

[@francozuno5174]

I wish I could obtain one of these rocks. Unfortunately I can go to New Mexico. So that is just a dream

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Uranium is in more places than people realize.

[@francozuno5174]

@@RadioactiveDrew well I’ve looked all around the city i live in. There is no uranium. And the antique shops do not have any uranium. Including Fiestaware. To get It I have to spend up to 100 dollars for some items. But that is fine I could keep looking. But it is not worth it to go to New Mexico and back for a bit of uranium. I think there is some in California but probably not in the bay area

[@RadioactiveDrew]

There is some in the Eastern Sierras. To be honest the uranium in New Mexico is a bit hard to get to…lots of fences blocking access. At least in some places. In Utah is much easier in certain locations.

[@francozuno5174]

@@RadioactiveDrew yeah that is kind of far. See I don’t really travel anywhere far. That is like a 5 hour drive so I will probably spend a day looking for a little piece.

[@pazsion]

Plus the uranium oxide dust being breathed in Uranium is not found in water naturally 😊 but it’s one of those things nuke people say to normalize toxic waste I guess don’t worry everything is safe. We didn’t dump anything there

[@krisofamerica]

crazy

[@garrettcox570]

Would love to buy a radeye b20 but it’s looking like they all run 2,000-3,000. Anyone know where to find it cheaper?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Sometimes they pop up on eBay.

[@shroominz9471]

4:53 what happens if u lick it?

[@azjeep]

turn down the sound

[@leonardmichaelwrinch446]

You don’t use gloves ❓

[@jpu7456]

As long as you wash your hands after prospecting, you're good. That ore is pretty solid, no real concern of pieces flaking or falling off.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Yeah I’m not too concerned about using gloves with this type ore. The ore at Temple Mountain can be pretty dusty at certain areas. I always wash hands after handling uranium ore to contain contamination.

[@ridgecrestwack9746]

Will any of your NM samples be in your store? I’ve been seriously struggling to acquire any good samples near me EDIT: Great video btw, I really liked the background info about mines

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Yes, they will be in the store this week.

[@ridgecrestwack9746]

@@RadioactiveDrew thanks!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

@@ridgecrestwack9746 the ore samples are up on the site now BTW.

[@ridgecrestwack9746]

@@RadioactiveDrew much thanks Drew!

[@RadioactiveDrew]

No problem.

[@Fuzzalump]

I was of the understanding that anything over 50k cpm was dangerous and definitely stuff over 100k. I definitely wouldn’t be holding a rock reading 113k.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

As far as dangerous sources go you need to get much higher. Is this okay to use as a pillow...no. But the stuff that enters into the dangerous realm is when you get past 500k CPM...that's kins of where I see the start of danger. Plus it also depends on the type of radiation. 100k CPM of gamma would be something to be careful of...at least I think.

[@archstanton_live]

Brecciated kimberlite pipes.

[@jandoodle6769]

6:20 do I see some cell destruction on his fingers ?😂

[@Hey_its_Koda]

Thats insane. I see why alot of Navajos die from cancer. The water out there is bad. The livestock drink the water.

[@Munvo]

Why you don't reduce the noise of the meter in the video is beyond me. Cannot watch any more.

[@l2positionuno268]

Ahhh! Gates and fences, welcome to Utah.

[@davidedgar2818]

I wasn't aware of a hot area that I had a hot exposure causing health issues. It wasn't until further testing that the exposure was discovered. Please be careful, plus life long dosage, has a definable affect. My first visit to a nuclear reactor was when I was 11. My neighbor was a nuclear physicist who had a lab at Brookhaven.

[@marcusmaddenov2451]

😎

[@somebodyelse5]

For the record, you taco would have gotten up that no problem :)

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Maybe...I was kind of far out enough I didn't want to take the chance.

[@somebodyelse5]

@@RadioactiveDrew Totally understand! If you find yourself in AZ, the local Toyota Offroad club (Copper State Cruisers) would be happy to host / tag along on a trail run with you! Workman Mine in the Sierra Anchas is supposedly neat? never been though.

[@stickerchief5449]

My grandpa was one of the mining navajos got sick and died from it They say it passes on genetically so I should be radiant as well 😄

[@RadioactiveDrew]

It doesn’t pass on.

[@ruckinehround6965]

Yellow cake. Ingredients. Awesome

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Well its not as easy as you may think. The ore needs to be crushed, dissolved in acid and a bunch of other chemical extraction processes to get to yellow cake uranium.

[@chemistryscuriosities]

It wasn’t just Natives that died from these “mining practices”

[@RadioactiveDrew]

True...but once the high level of radon exposure was found to cause health problems they started ventilating uranium mines.

[@keithrosenberg5486]

The human body gives off thousands of counts per minute.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I would knock that number down a bit. Maybe a couple hundred counts per minute.

[@AtomicElectronCo]

Not likely so much. Try getting some cardiac radio therapy or other radioactive diagnostic treatment....then maybe yes. Maybe. :)

[@rambozo_fpv176]

Cool video. I'm deaf now tho.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Glad you like the video. Are the detector signals too much? I usually bring them down a bit in editing.

[@rambozo_fpv176]

@@RadioactiveDrew Yessir. The long detector beeps are much louder than your voice in my year. Its probably just the piercing tone. I had to adjust the volume or just pull my earbuds out for the beeps.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

Thanks for letting me know. I’ll try and put the detector sound a bit lower in the sound mix. I’m not using headphones when mixing these videos so I can hear the level most are going to hear it at. But those sustained loud noises can be a bit much. Thanks again for letting me know. Anything I can do to make these videos better is always nice to hear.

[@alexeynoro]

Hello. Do you speak Russian?

[@RadioactiveDrew]

I do not. Just English my friend.

[@alexeynoro]

@@RadioactiveDrew ok. I have radiacode 101 to.

[@RadioactiveDrew]

@@alexeynoro the 101 is a great detector. I’m using the 102 now but I still use the 101 from time to time.

[@alexeynoro]

@@RadioactiveDrew i have radiscan 701a as well.