Re: [Phys-l] Advice from a veteran teacher?

[Bernard Cleyet <bernardcleyet@redshift.com>]

Certainly the rocks were radioactive -- the yellow one was carnotite, the others various uranium, thorium, etc. minerals.  That old perfectly legal to have (grandfathered or presently insignificant quantity**).  Did you try replacing the batteries -- I suspect the only prob. w/ the G-M survey meter.


http://www.atomicrocks.com/html/rules.html

http://www.atomicrocks.com/html/minerals.html

bc  collected carnotite encrusted fossils.  (ca. 1953)


 
On 2009, Dec 19, , at 11:16, Marty Weiss wrote:

>  Several weeks later a big unmarked white truck with US government plates pulled up to the side driveway leading to my lab area.  A bunch of guys jumped out, put on white jump-suits with hoodies, masks, "footies", and gloves, and marched into the building next to the lab.  The principal got on the intercom,  "Please do not allow anyone out of your rooms.  Will all security guards report to the hall outside of M- 30  (the physics lab.").  Please esco
> rt the physics students to the auditorium."    The cleanup crew entered my room, any curious kids who were in the hall were ordered to leave.  They asked me for the key.  (no one bothered to give me any *safe-gear*!! I suppose the teacher was what they call collateral damage!)  They gingerly removed all the stuff from the drawer, bagged it all up, and left as quickly as they had arrived.   The emergency was called off, and that was the last I ever saw of the rocks and the Geiger counter.  Much later I asked the supervisor what it all amounted to.  She told me she had no idea.  No one ever said what they did with the materials or what branch of the government these people were from  (this was long before 9/11 so there was no Homeland Security dept.).  To my knowledge, no one had to sign any waivers or release forms and that was the end of the it.  
>
> Marty