At 05:57 PM 11/23/97 -0500, SCHRAMMR@WLSVAX.WVNET.EDU wrote:
>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
>
>
>
Exhibiting fine-art and editorial photography
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