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Bob Simon said, "...It has long been
recognized that some of the dinosaur bones in the
Morrison Formation are radioactive. I wonder if studies have been done at Vernal and other places to check the radioactivity to ensure the safety and protection of both the workers and the public." About five years ago, I was attending a
'gem and mineral' show in Baltimore, Maryland. One dealer had a box of
dinosaur bone chips from somewhere in the Jurassic Morrison Formation of Utah
that were intensely colored by uranium salts. When a guy who always
takes his Geiger counter (radiation sensing device) to such shows came along and
put the sensor near those bones, the audio output (clicking sounds) and
needle-type display showing intensity went wild.
The man with the Geiger counter said,
"That stuff is dangerously radioactive!"
I pleaded with the dealer to withdraw
them from sale, fearing that some might be purchased by or for some little kid
who would carry them around for days in his or her pocket for 'show and
tell'.
The dealer responded, "I wouldn't worry
about that."
Two years later I saw him at a show and
most of the uranium salt-colored ones were gone. So I asked him, "Did you
withdraw them from sale, as I advised?"
"Hell, no!" he responded, "Those bright
yellow ones sell fastest. The kids can't resist buying the prettiest
ones. I'm gonna try to find some more of them."
I tried to convince him not to do so, but
he responded, "A little radiation never hurt anybody!"
So, if any of you out there attend such
shows and see this kind of thing happening, please try to convince the dealer to
withdraw them from sale. You might be 'wasting your breath' on the
dealer, but at least if any little children are standing around, their
parents may agree with you and not buy them.
Radioactive bones are no way to introduce
children to dinosaurs or to interest them in the science
thereof.
Ray Stanford
"You know my method. It is founded upon the observance
of trifles." -- Sherlock Holmes in The Boscombe Valley Mystery
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