Help Identifying some "Nuclear Reactor Momentos"

[Retro2001]

I recently was given a pair of old (one dated as Feb '49) items passed down to an elderly friend from her mother. My friend spent time growing up in both Hanford, WA and Oak Ridge, TN and her parents were both involved in the nuclear projects their - her father was an accountant of sorts for nuclear material.

Anyhow, both items came out of a brown bag labeled "Nuclear Reactor Momentos" along with a few other items (Raw U-238 ore, vials of various forms of Uranium) all encased in acrylic (similar to my first unknown item).

I'm hoping that someone can help me identify the first item, as it was the only one in the collection that was not in any way labeled - and that someone can help me find some further details on the second item (the Uranium sample) - out side of the fact that it hails from Hanford , circa 1949.

I've posted some images (large ones, at my webserver's peril ) at http://www.ultimatetrip.net/nuke.

If anyone can shed any more light, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,
Will

 

[Howard]

Make a bullet out of the DU.

 

[Retro2001]

Might be a warm one - I wonder what the standard for Depletion was in '49 - although this has had another 50 years to mellow out.

 

[PottedMeat]

Neat stuff - could the 1st one be a fuel pellet? maybe the top part is and you put it in the bottom part? Though the bottom part is machined... hmm.

 

[Retro2001]

I should have added a scale, the first item is not very large....

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Howard
Make a bullet out of the DU.

and then find a GAU-8/A to shoot it, and hundreds others in less than a few moments?

 

[Deleted member 4644]

Um................. I *could* be wrong, but wouldn't these items be hot for gamma? If *I* were you, I would not keep them outside of a lead box for more than a few minutes a year.

 

[Retro2001]

Originally posted by: PottedMeat
Neat stuff - could the 1st one be a fuel pellet? maybe the top part is and you put it in the bottom part? Though the bottom part is machined... hmm.

I've added a couple of new pictures for scale of the item in acrylic - bonus points for IDing the CD case ;-).

--Will

 

[lupi]

poison pin?

total guess without knowing more about the source.

 

[Retro2001]

Originally posted by: Deleted member 4644
Um................. I *could* be wrong, but wouldn't these items be hot for gamma? If *I* were you, I would not keep them outside of a lead box for more than a few minutes a year.

The acrylic encased item really appears to have been intended to be a display piece, as the acrylic is soft (note the scratches). The DU piece was marked as such 50 years ago, so it should be quite tame at this point.

That being said, they're staying at the far end of my house from my bed (and the DU is *not* coming out of its sample case) - especially until I can nail down some more details.

--Will

 

[Retro2001]

Originally posted by: lupi
total guess without knowing more about the source.

Either Hanford, WA or Oak Ridge, TN in the 1940-1950's time frame. Hoping it looks familiar to someone.

--Will

 

[lupi]

What do you want to know about the uranium

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: Deleted member 4644
Um................. I *could* be wrong, but wouldn't these items be hot for gamma? If *I* were you, I would not keep them outside of a lead box for more than a few minutes a year.

if it's U238 *ore* as the OP claims, it should be stable... i think

edit: if the vials are uranium metal... then he might run into problems

 

[Deleted member 4644]

Originally posted by: Retro2001

Originally posted by: Deleted member 4644
Um................. I *could* be wrong, but wouldn't these items be hot for gamma? If *I* were you, I would not keep them outside of a lead box for more than a few minutes a year.

The acrylic encased item really appears to have been intended to be a display piece, as the acrylic is soft (note the scratches). The DU piece was marked as such 50 years ago, so it should be quite tame at this point.

That being said, they're staying at the far end of my house from my bed (and the DU is *not* coming out of its sample case) - especially until I can nail down some more details.

--Will

The concern I have is that 60 yrs ago they perhaps had different standards about what levels of radiation are "safe." I would find a metal box for it all until you can ID it all.

 

[lupi]

Originally posted by: Deleted member 4644

Originally posted by: Retro2001

Originally posted by: Deleted member 4644
Um................. I *could* be wrong, but wouldn't these items be hot for gamma? If *I* were you, I would not keep them outside of a lead box for more than a few minutes a year.

The acrylic encased item really appears to have been intended to be a display piece, as the acrylic is soft (note the scratches). The DU piece was marked as such 50 years ago, so it should be quite tame at this point.

That being said, they're staying at the far end of my house from my bed (and the DU is *not* coming out of its sample case) - especially until I can nail down some more details.

--Will

The concern I have is that 60 yrs ago they perhaps had different standards about what levels of radiation are "safe." I would find a metal box for it all until you can ID it all.

I don't think there has been much change in the free release radition level rules in quite some time.

 

[IronWing]

The one looks like a fuel pellet plus end of fuel assembly. The second one is interesting. I can't make out the whole label. Can you post the words from the label?

Can you post picts of the other vials?

If you do decide to stash the Uranium to cut down on exposure, don't store the uranium directly against anything steel. The alpha particles react with iron which produces gamma rays.

I'm so jealous.

 

[Retro2001]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
edit: if the vials are uranium metal... then he might run into problems

The acrylic encased items are a solid slug (the black object) and a hollow tube with something at the end (silver and black) - no vials. The tube and the construction at the end are hollow.

--Will

 

[BrownTown]

The small cylinder looks like a nuclear fuel pellet, If i had to guess I would say the other part is the tip of a fuel rod. Given the dates they won't be any currently operating type of power reactor so they might look a little different. I have seen tons of simulated fuel pellets (my dad is a nuclear fuel specialist and right where he works there are fuel bundles for both GE andf Westinghouse units, but obviously holding fake fuel not real UO2) and thats exactly what they look like.

 

[SlickSnake]

You need to immediately make or secure some sort of a rather thick lead container, or secure one of those radioactive bags they ship and store peoples chemo therapy medicines in. And it also would not hurt to bury it in the ground a few feet down, then call around or email the pics to a few nearby universities to see if they can send someone out to use a gieger counter on it to insure what the safety of these items are. Find some email addresses and start sending them with pics to some professors or doctors that are involved in physics or nuclear medicine, something like that.

This is imperative. DO IT NOW.

 

[Retro2001]

Originally posted by: ironwing
The one looks like a fuel pellet plus end of fuel assembly. The second one is interesting. I can't make out the whole label. Can you post the words from the label?

As best I can make out, the wording on the DU is:

U
stored
supernate
Hanford - C+CCC
UAP and Pluov (unsure about the end of Plu...)
Feb. 1949 RSWARNER

--Will


Edit: replaced "supermatic" with "supernate"

 

[IronWing]

Originally posted by: Retro2001

The acrylic encased item really appears to have been intended to be a display piece, as the acrylic is soft (note the scratches). The DU piece was marked as such 50 years ago, so it should be quite tame at this point.

--Will

DU increases in activity over time, at least for the first half billion years or so. The sample is more hazardous now than it was when it was made.

http://www.wise-uranium.org/img/actdu.gif

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: ironwing
The alpha particles react with iron which produces gamma rays.

I'm so jealous.

alpha particles are stopped by paper, that stuff is encased in acrylic, how would an alpha particle get out

 

[BrownTown]

concerning the need to purchase a lead container, that is really not needed for a a piece of depleted uranium. The only significant health risk is from alpha particles which cannot penetrate your skin and cannot escape from the plastic container. The only way this could hurt you was if you ingested the uranium or set it on fire and inhaled the fumes.

 

[SlickSnake]

There are an amazing amount of hot radioactive items out there in the marketplace from this period in time. They made watches, clocks and grandfather clock faces, dice, chess and checkerboards, jewelry, just an amazing amount of items using radioactive paint that glows in the dark. These items are HOT radioactively speaking, and can be found in thrift shops, garage sales, literally all over the place. The only safe way to store these items is in a lead box. And they should almost never be taken out. Now, it is possible what you have are dummy items, with no radioactivity at all. But you can only know this with a gieger counter check.

 

[BrownTown]

the "Hot" items you speak of contain radium not uranium...