Maybe I Think Too Much

[Kray Gelder]

Oh, wait until you see a whale tooth with UV. The brownish/black business end is a bright yellow/white!

 

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[Holyground]

In my past life I worked in a toothpaste factory screwing lids on toothpaste tubes.

 

[Stringtyer]

Dang! I started this thread to find out about toxic or radioactive finds and it turned into quite an interesting read. I appreciate the conversation.

Unfortunately, the thread took a bad turn when all this talk about UV lights came up. My life was quite complete with the things I already own but no, let's not leave well enough alone. Now I have to go find a good UV light so I can play around with that. Not only do I have to research and buy a new flashlight, I have to research what fluoresces under UV. The upside of this is that I have the time to do both.

Also, for today's useless trivia question: What kind of threads are used on a toothpaste tube?

 

[namxat]

-Radioactive? I dont think so only chance would be a watch with radium dial. Have never found one.
-Toxic? Quite likely. Old lead by the pound, white broze (arsenic) buttons. I also should wear more gloves when giong at old copper and brass with chemical to clean it.
-Other? Not an American thing, yet other parts of the world is full with old unexploded ordinance. thank god, I dont like war relics so chances are few that I blow myself up one day.


Greets Namxat

 

[Kray Gelder]

Dang! I started this thread to find out about toxic or radioactive finds and it turned into quite an interesting read. I appreciate the conversation.

Unfortunately, the thread took a bad turn when all this talk about UV lights came up. My life was quite complete with the things I already own but no, let's not leave well enough alone. Now I have to go find a good UV light so I can play around with that. Not only do I have to research and buy a new flashlight, I have to research what fluoresces under UV. The upside of this is that I have the time to do both.

Also, for today's useless trivia question: What kind of threads are used on a toothpaste tube?

Sorry about that. I still need to put a Geiger counter on those teeth. LOL

 

[Megalodon]

OK, back to dangerous finds... I find the occasional syringe on public beaches; should probably wear gloves since I do pick them up to dispose of in the county's sharps disposal drum.

Oh, and there was a live confederate Read shell I found 30 years ago with the plunger rod still sticking out of the fuse.

 

[nomad 11]

View attachment 1617300 View attachment 1617301 View attachment 1617302 View attachment 1617299 A couple of years ago I found a new subdivision going in. They had to excavate large runoff ponds, and they cut through an old undisturbed clay layer estimated age 20-30 million years old. It was loaded with shark teeth, and whale fossils, as well as other sea creature fossil. They spread this clay over the entire site, and I spent several months collecting shark teeth and fossils there. They were not creek tumbled finds, but had lain undisturbed and buried since they settled to the bottom of what used to be the shallow sea covering the east coast lowcountry. Anyway, I discovered at home one day, that they glowed under UV light. I bought a 100 LED UV flashlight, and hunted the site at night. The teeth glowed a bright yellow/green, and stood out like beacons in the dark. I never tested them with a Geiger counter, but I suspect the glow is from uranium, absorbed over millions of years.

Didn't intend to step on your thread, but most of these were found with a UV light.

NOW THAT IS COOL ! that would be something I would never forget. if they are radio active would you even want to come in contact with them ? and would they be dangerous with them in your living area ? not pertaining to metal detecting but cool none the less.

 

[nomad 11]

oh and by the way ? I've been told that I think too much also. you would think that by now I would be a genius. ha !

 

[AurumHunter024]

While out firewood cutting, one day I found a site that was filled with old syringe needles. I'm sure they're still there because I wasn't taking any chances digging through that pile of dirt & sticking myself. I don't think kevlar gloves would protect from such a small needles either so left them alone.

The town I live in is built upon uranium mill tailings... How dangerous is that?

 

[RustyGold]

Dang! I started this thread to find out about toxic or radioactive finds and it turned into quite an interesting read. I appreciate the conversation.

Unfortunately, the thread took a bad turn when all this talk about UV lights came up. My life was quite complete with the things I already own but no, let's not leave well enough alone. Now I have to go find a good UV light so I can play around with that. Not only do I have to research and buy a new flashlight, I have to research what fluoresces under UV. The upside of this is that I have the time to do both.

Also, for today's useless trivia question: What kind of threads are used on a toothpaste tube?

If imported, I woud say metric. If USA manufactured, I would say Standard.

 

[RustyGold]

The Toxic finds are located on the bottom of my flip flops (tar) after detecting the SoCal Beaches.

 

[chub]

I once found an item that looked like a wrist watch with metal straps. Turns out (as far as i can tell) it was a very old device that wraps around a railway line that explodes (minor explosion) when a train runs over it. Not so dangerous but interesting.

chub

 

[Ammoman]

I have found enough UXO's for one lifetime. I once walked into the mouth of a cave and could not get further than 20 feet without gasping for air. Not sure what was displacing the oxygen. I could see some drums with my flashlight about 30 feet further inside.

Navy round unexploded


Thermite Bomb-let

 

[Duckshot]

If you find a piece of lead that has been laying around a while it might have a white-powder layer of oxide on it which though as delicious as sugar-free sweetener might result in having kids with three thumbs if ingested.

Lead oxides are dense but pretty friable and can become airborne Keep it wet with misted water or oil if you are throwing it around. Wash your hands frequently, and make sure you got enough iron in you. The reason a body absorbs heavy metals is partly because it can't distinguish crap like lead from iron.

 

[Dave Rishar]

That said, I was thinking about the stuff I find when out treasure hunting and got to wondering: have any of y'all ever found anything seriously toxic or radioactive or in some other way dangerous? If so, when did you make the discovery of the danger and were there any negative outcomes?

I wouldn't expect anything dangerously radioactive to turn up while detecting, but the fact of the matter is that most people wouldn't know if they had found something...unless they received enough of a dose to give them symptoms requiring hospitalization, and at that point you're already in trouble.

Toxic, though...yeah, I hit a bad patch in Silverdale about ten years ago. The plants didn't grow correctly, there were nails everywhere, and there was a fine, even layer of charcoal and ash under the soil. It made me somewhat sick for a day or two. I'm not sure what had burned down back there, but at a guess I'd say that it had been a meth lab at some point. Or maybe previous owners had a shed out there that they were storing all of their household hazmat in and it burned. Who knows?

As a Experimental Physicist specializing in the inner workings of the atom, I was working with radioactive elements for many years; very interesting stuff! As a older and somewhat wiser man, I hope my life on this beautiful planet will not be shortened by such research.

Your life may have actually been extended by your research. Are you familiar with radiation hormesis? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_hormesis All of the facts are not in yet on this theory, but speaking strictly from anecdotal evidence, I think that there is something to it.

In all my years working around nuclear power plants and with radioactive materials, I picked up less dose than I did flying from North Carolina to Seattle or by working near the coal pile at a fossil fired power plant. To be exact, I was not allowed to take my TLD with me when I went to a coal-fired plant. Let's not speak of the granite buildings in DC.

We are not allowed to fly with our TLD's for that reason. I've wondered how the airlines handle radiation exposure for their employees. I've never seen one wearing any kind of dosimetry (and I look, and I know what to look for), but it's possible that they hide them or something. The airlines are remarkably tight-lipped about this topic and I don't blame them for it. The average American knows just enough about radiation to be afraid of it, but not enough to know when to be afraid of it.

(And for you non-radiation workers out there: yes, you will pick up a measurable dose on any flight that goes up to high altitudes. No, you don't need to worry about it. It might even be good for you.)

 

[johnsonraider]

I appreciate your knowledge dear, My younger brother perusing mechanical engineering and I read this books regarding negative energy.