Sure, click for larger.Then flee for your lives.
The newly adopted international symbol for hazardous ionizing radiation.
The problem with designing an effective symbol is that some of the Hot Stuff has a half-life so long -- 250,000 years or more -- that it requires a symbol which will be clearly understood long after everybody's forgotten how to read English or German or French or Chinese or Japanese. So you need a picture that will tell ANYBODY to turn around and get the fuck out of there as fast as possible.
The problem with the Skull & Crossbones by itself is that little kids think it's a fun symbol that means pirates, so they were ending up in hospital emergency rooms from drinking the Pirate Fun Juice they found in bottles stored under the sink. Now toxic household chemicals use the "Mister Yuck" symbol, a green, sick-looking Frowny Face.
The traditional "trefoil" symbol for ioning radiation danger was tested by itself, and many children thought it was a non-threatening symbol for a propeller -- inviting rather than alarming.
The "trefoil" symbol dates from the first postwar wave of growth of the nuclear power industry in North America and Europe, and reflects an intentional industry desire not to scare the crap out of everybody who sees it. In other words, it was designed to convey Nothing. To understand it requires training, education, pre-familiarity. For warning untrained people about nearby invisible hazards, it was always useless. It could just as easily be inviting people in for free ice cream.
Leo (well, okay, his name isn't really Leo) is the founder, owner and Grand Wizard of my favorite e-List, Basement & Garage Ionizing Radiation Enthusiasts.
A great deal of the commerce and trade that flies back and forth among the List members -- the arcane old military Cold War Beep-Beep Woop-Woop Gizmos (click here to see mine, I bought it off a magazine ad when I was 14) and The Stuph the Gizmos measure, identify and manipulate -- is conducted via eBay.
Very sad and troubling e-mail today from Leo. The Garage & Basement community is in shock and mourning.
Yellowcake is a common powder ore compound, a mined source of uranium -- not particularly dangerous unless you sleep on a ton of it every night for a week, but small amounts are great for making lab gizmos go Beep-Beep.
Party's over.
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eBay removes my ads.
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Dear leoelectronics,
You recently listed the following listing:
220503438906 - uranium sulfate sample- yellowcake 2 grams
350272709172 - uranium nitrate sample- yellowcake 2 grams
Unfortunately, we had to remove your listing because the following information violates our policy:
Hazardous or dangerous goods (such as explosives, radioactive materials, flammable gases, liquids and solids, and toxic substances) may pose a danger to health, safety, or property while being transported. Many hazardous goods cannot be shipped through the mail or commercial carriers at all.
6 comments:
You got a classification number on the hazardous list or a UN number ? UN number would be cool. I used to work for a courier service as you well know, with that I might be able to do some research with the IATA DG list.
Oh very cool question ... is eBay conforming to pre-existing international regulations, or is eBay just making up rules arbitrarily as it waltzes along?
I have forwarded your question, and its IATA DG alphabet soup (I surfed the IATA DG website), to the Garage & Basement Ionizing Radiation Enthusiasts List, I'll let you know what Leo or others come up with.
Yellowcake was the powdered ore that gave the old 1930s Fiestaware dinner plates its beautiful yellow colors. RevJJ correctly answered a PizzaQ and explained how lots of old churches have kitchens full of the beautiful Fiestaware dinnerware, plates, cups, bowls, and today are completely oblivious to its radioactivity. Very few worshippers bring their pocket Geiger Counters to Sunday services or chicken suppers.
Just saw the reply on the list. Doesn't matter if it was sent within the US with ground shipping, even with USPS aka the american posties a UN number would be required in this case. Uranium ie has UN2979 and is unacceptable in any case,uranium sulfate might be a different story alltogether. since it has different properties and therefore a different classification and UN number
Always try to beat the system, beat the bastards with their own bureaucracy, at their own game !
And all of you that have been doing internet searches about this stuff are now on some US government watch list. Good luck getting on your next airplane or crossing an American border. eBay is simply following the instructions of the somberly dressed gentleman sitting at a quiet desk in a corner of eBay headquarters, who doesn't really work for eBay.
There always has to be a party pooper.
Jim ... do they really have enough supercomputers and enough personnel to keep tabs on EVERYBODY??? Is every Fiestaware collector in the USA in the database? Do they know I have my 1950s portable prospecting Geiger counter that I bought for $25 from a magazine ad when I was 14???
And when Homelamp Security REALLY gets mean and serious ... where will they put us all??? We have no soccer stadiums! They're closing the detention facility in Guantanamo!
Hey hey hi hi Paul P!
Look ... all I ever wanted was just a cheap gizmo so I could know what's Hot and what's Not and where it is in the neighborhood.
I just want to know a few hours before everybody else hears about it from The Official Government Authorities.
Where is the harm? Huh?
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