Radioactivity
SCHRAMMR@WLSVAX.WVNET.EDU
Sun, 23 Nov 1997 17:57:15 -0500 (EST)
Yes, Luis brings up an interesting point. Not only are some homes built
in locations where there are more natural deposits of radioactive materials
but there is more radiation inside a brick house than a wood frame house.
The reason for this is that bricks are made from clay which contains some
naturally occuring radioactive isotopes. Now I know that sounds like an urban
legend but my research advisor told me that and I did not believe him at
first so I actually ran a test to see if it was true. My research work was on
natural fallout. I used a device that drew large volumes of air through a
filter. The filter would capture all sorts of stuff including the decay
products of radon gas which itself is a decay product of uranium. After about
30 minutes of air sampling, the filter was placed in a scintillation counter.
I tried putting the air sampler next to a brick wall. The result was a
sharp increase in the amount of radiation that accumulated on the filter.
I also learned that fallout is a function of weather. During hot muggy days
when there is a temperature inversion, the fallout level climbs and sometimes
reaches a surprising level. After a rain or snow, the air is "washed" clean
and the fallout level drops dramatically.
Now before someone complains that this has nothing to do with alt photo
process, let me say that the point is that one should store film in a
wood structure rather than a brick structure so it will last longer.;-)
Bob Schramm