Depleted Uranium ammunition - UK Legal??

[gothica7]

Quick question? Why would anyone want a geiger counter if you wernt in the habit of getting near nasty radioactive sources. I see several forum members have them, not expecting anything nasty to happen soon i hope?
I can see the need if its within your jobspec but otherwise cant understand the need unless its just something to collect. Not a dig in anyway, just a simple question as its never crossed my mind re owning one.

Andy

[gothica7]

Nice one Rick, perfect answer. Just wondered thats all. I suppose its the collecting bug which is a serious disease to get. I recently bought on feebay an adjustable tap wrench. Dont really know why as i only have 3 taps for Mills bombs and its either 2 small or 2 big and is 14 ins in length so i really have no use for it other than its a nice bit of wartime engineering. Then of course theres all the other stuff!!!!

Andy

[christhurston]

The more I think about all this,the more I wonder if a geiger counter might be a good buy for all of us,especially if you have old Soviet/Warsaw Pact
material in your collection.It might not be made of DU,but where was it stored before it came our way??? If it doesn't glow in the dark,or feel warm to the touch,you might not realise you've got a problem until you start growing another head !!!!!

[LCplCombat]

you might not realise you've got a problem until you start growing another head !!!!!

That's it, I'm giving up collecting anything at all

[spotter]

Keeping my house a DU free zone ive had radiation sickness before ..it sucks

[F0031]

I used to collect rocks, and I once had the absurd notion that a Geiger counter would help me find uranium minerals amongst the mine dumps in Cornwall and elsewhere. But in those days Geiger counters were very expensive, and I could not justify spending over £200 except possibly to help keep the family safe from nuclear fallout. Atmospheric tests were well and truly banned, and East-West relations were improving all the time.
So, with no chance of a major nuclear explosion, family safety was never a serious consideration. Then that Russian power station blew up ...

[Tony Williams]

On a completely different radioactive topic,I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that in the later stages of WW2,some,otherwise undetectable German landmines came with a bag of what I think they called "tarnsand".This was perhaps the only German army use of radioactive material (fortunately!!!) I'm guessing that after laying the mine the bag was emptied over the top,and would have needed some kind of radiation detector to to locate them later should that prove necessary.

There are persistent stories (I believe originating in a postwar interview with Speer) that late in WW2 Germany processed some of the 1,200 tons of uranium ore, originally collected for their aborted atomic bomb programme, into AP cores for Pzgr 40 ammo in 50mm Pak 38 anti-tank guns (tungsten was in short supply). This was most definitely not depleted, being highly radioactive. I recall hearing at one of the ECRA International meetings a few years ago that such a core had been found.

[HAZORD]

Thanks Tony,

That is very important and interesting info.

John

[christhurston]

Many thanks,Tony,I've not come across reference to these 50mm PaK AP
projectiles before,and I can't help wondering how one had been found ???
I expect many collectors have such items,and there are,I think,a couple on SA at this very moment.How would anyone know if they happened to have a "hot" one,the only concerns anyone has is that these things are free from explosive and pyrotechnic content.I doubt if at any stage other hazards are given any thought whatsoever. I've adopted a rather tongue in cheek attitude to this discussion up to now,but there are conceivably serious aspects to it all !!!!

[Tony Williams]

I cannot vouch for the truth of the story but yes, if true it is potentially a serious issue. Fortunately, I understand that such rounds are supposed to be extremely rare.