# So, I am looking to buy large quatities of refiened Uranium... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 17, 2001, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781 "2001-08-17T18:47:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/1 "2001-08-17T18:47:07Z")
20 or so pounds would be nice. A few extra should help in covering any margin of error. So, are there any, ya know, laws against this? Can I buy Uranium? If so, where? What kind? In what ammounts? What is I just so happen to find a massive deposit of Uranium located completely in my backyard (that has not killed me)? Do I get to keep it? Will the man try to swoop down and start jones’in on my stash? Fer that matter, how about plutonium? ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Propski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Guy\_Propski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Propski)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/2 "2001-08-17T18:53:07Z")
Sale of radioactive materials, like other explosives, is heavily regulated. You have to have a license to buy, sell, and transport it. All sales and their quantities are reported to the government. There are only a few authorized purveyors of radioactives, so it’s not like you go down to the Home Depot and pick up some. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/3 "2001-08-17T18:53:46Z")
Please tell me your question has nothing to do with this thread about [Armageddon](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=82360). ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/4 "2001-08-17T18:56:19Z")
You have to have a license of some kind from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to possess plutonium. [http://www.osti.gov/html/osti/opennet/document/pu50yrs/pu50ya.html](http://www.osti.gov/html/osti/opennet/document/pu50yrs/pu50ya.html) > [@](#): > > In the mid-1960’s, a further amendment to the Atomic Energy Act permitted private ownership of special nuclear material. The potential nuclear proliferation problem and problematic experiences with licensees led the AEC to conclude that steps should be taken to place more positive requirements on the licensees for the safeguarding of special nuclear material in their possession. Consequently, regulations were issued in 1967 to establish specific material control and accounting procedures for licensees. > > The following year, the regulatory office in the AEC assumed sole responsibility to oversee materials safeguards applicable to private industry. In response to the increase in international trade in nuclear material, the AEC issued regulations regarding nuclear material physical protection requirements for licensees to protect against terrorist and other threats. This regulatory office formed the foundation for the present Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which became an independent agency in 1975. When the NRC was formed in 1975, nuclear material control and accountability of government-owned materials at non-licensed facilities was transferred to ERDA, and subsequently to DOE. > **[govinfo](https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/FR/)** > > Official Publications from the U.S. Government Publishing Office. > [@](#): > > NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION > > 10 CFR Part 70 > > RIN 3150-AF22 > > Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material; Possession of a Critical Mass of Special Nuclear Material > > AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. You may browse at your leisure. Dunno about plain uranium. But, golly, doncha just love the Internet? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/5 "2001-08-17T19:14:45Z")
I knew we should be keeping a close eye on these filthy Fremen. . . Alert the Baron at once! ---
**Author:** ![Threadkiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@Threadkiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Threadkiller)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/6 "2001-08-17T19:32:15Z")
Uranium is easy. Try the [Alfa Catalog](http://www.alfa.com). I think that you mean _enriched_ (as opposed to _refined_) uranium. The average Joe is going to have a really tough time making any sort of weapon out of naturally occurring uranium (fissile content of 0.7110%). Of course I wouldn’t recommend getting this stuff since it is radioactive and, while it probably wouldn’t kill or injure you unless you did something stupid (don’t lick off the oxide!), if the word got around your neighbors would probably be a wee bit concerned. If you want anything useful for bombs and such you start running in to the items **Duck Duck Goose** cited. ---
**Author:** ![Kamandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5daacb/32.png) [@Kamandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamandi)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/7 "2001-08-17T20:10:39Z")
Plutonium does not occur naturally on Earth. It has to be manufactured in a nuclear reactor - called a plutonium breeder. It’s also a byproduct of nuclear power plants, I think. ---
**Author:** ![mrblue92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@mrblue92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrblue92)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/8 "2001-08-17T20:35:04Z")
ISTR a story one of my physics professors told me… He said they used to have a very hard time finding strong radiation sources because of government restrictions. But, being the resourceful types, they knew that a certain color glaze used on old dinner plates contained a significant amount of uranium, and so they bought a few from the local thrift store. Apparently the plates were better radiation sources than anything they could buy through scientific supply houses… Of course, getting 20 pounds worth would likely proven pretty difficult. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/9 "2001-08-17T20:47:08Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by mrblue92 \* > \*\* But, being the resourceful types, they knew that a certain color glaze used on old dinner plates contained a significant amount of uranium, and so they bought a few from the local thrift store._\* Orange Fiesta Ware, I presume. I don’t know how those things register on a Geiger counter, though. Can’t verify that part of the story. And yes, you’d be hard-pressed to find 20 pounds of vintage Fiesta Ware glaze–the plates are highly treasured by collectors. ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/10 "2001-08-17T20:56:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by toadspittle \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > _Originally posted by mrblue92 \* > > \*\* But, being the resourceful types, they knew that a certain color glaze used on old dinner plates contained a significant amount of uranium, and so they bought a few from the local thrift store._\* > > Orange Fiesta Ware, I presume. I don’t know how those things register on a Geiger counter, though. Can’t verify that part of the story.\*\* Red, actually. It’s known to Fiesta collectors as “Radioactive Red.” The glaze is not dangerous, I eat off my red Fiesta plates all the time. I disagree with crc’s assertion that it is hard to make a weapon out of un-enriched uranium. Sure, it’s hard to make a bomb, but there are other ways of using radioactive materials as a weapon. Radioactive salting, for example. For example, you could dump uranium powder into the air intake of an office building and it would be uninhabitable for years. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/11 "2001-08-17T20:57:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muad’Dib \* > \*\*20 or so pounds would be nice. A few extra should help in covering any margin of error. > \*\* Maud’ Dib, you wish to violate the Great Convention? ---
**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/12 "2001-08-17T22:01:14Z")
Dude, the Feds are all over this thread. I can feel it. ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/13 "2001-08-17T22:02:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by THespos \* > \*\*Dude, the Feds are all over this thread. I can feel it. \*\* They can take away my red Fiestaware when they pry it from my cold, dead hands. ---
**Author:** ![Philosophocles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Philosophocles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philosophocles)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/14 "2001-08-17T22:06:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muad’Dib \* > \*\*20 or so pounds would be nice. A few extra should help in covering any margin of error. > > So, are there any, ya know, laws against this? Can I buy Uranium? If so, where? What kind? In what ammounts? What is I just so happen to find a massive deposit of Uranium located completely in my backyard (that has not killed me)? Do I get to keep it? Will the man try to swoop down and start jones’in on my stash? > > Fer that matter, how about plutonium? \*\* If you wanna buy plutonium, you can acquire it from Libyan terrorists. Tell them that if they give you the plutonium, you’ll help them build a bomb, but instead of building a bomb for them, give them a casing full of used pinball machine parts. Just be sure to wear a bulletproof vest to be ready when they come after you. ---
**Author:** ![Kamandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5daacb/32.png) [@Kamandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamandi)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/15 "2001-08-17T22:34:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Philosophocles \* > \*\*If you wanna buy plutonium, you can acquire it from Libyan terrorists. Tell them that if they give you the plutonium, you’ll help them build a bomb, but instead of building a bomb for them, give them a casing full of used pinball machine parts. Just be sure to wear a bulletproof vest to be ready when they come after you. \*\* Is your name Doc Brown? ---
**Author:** ![Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c67d28/32.png) [@Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weird_AL_Einstein)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/16 "2001-08-17T22:56:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Podkayne \* > \*\*I knew we should be keeping a close eye on these filthy Fremen. . . Alert the Baron at once! \*\* Activate shields! Wind up the orthodontothopters! ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/17 "2001-08-17T23:18:00Z")
Kewl. [http://www.duke.edu/~tbw1/adventures/fiesta/fiesta.html](http://www.duke.edu/~tbw1/adventures/fiesta/fiesta.html) > [@](#): > > Ivory, cobalt blue, yellow, turquoise (1937), light green, and what many see today as a very ugly bright orange that was referred to then as Fiesta Red. On my monitor, it looks like a Crayola Red-Orange. Pic at this website. [http://www.oldandsold.com/articles/article063.shtml](http://www.oldandsold.com/articles/article063.shtml) This website says they stopped using uranium glazes on Fiesta Red in the 1950s. [http://www.beloitdailynews.com/697/2hor24.htm](http://www.beloitdailynews.com/697/2hor24.htm) > [@](#): > > Uranium glazes, applied only on red Fiesta, have not been used since the '50s… And they are no longer offering Fiesta Red, period. It was discontinued in 1972. [http://www.fiestawaredinnerware.com/fiestacolor.html](http://www.fiestawaredinnerware.com/fiestacolor.html) [http://www.peekaboo.net/archives/cat7/52.html](http://www.peekaboo.net/archives/cat7/52.html) There is evidently one study that “seems to suggest” that vintage Fiesta Red may emit radon. [http://www.oldandsold.com/articles/article063.shtml](http://www.oldandsold.com/articles/article063.shtml) > [@](#): > > Acidic foods like vinegar and tomato sauce tend to leach out and absorb uranium from the glaze, but in 1981 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that the radioactivity levels of the plates was low enough not to be a health hazard. That’s well enough, but it was later determined in 1994 that the red pieces were also leaking radon gas through cracks in the glaze at levels that are seven times higher than is considered safe. So it’s probably best to stay away from those red plates, but only those made before 1972. After that they started using other ingredients to create that vibrant red. ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/18 "2001-08-17T23:42:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > \*\*On my monitor, it looks like a Crayola Red-Orange. Pic at this website. \*\* [/QUOTE] Trust me, it is quite brilliant red, not very orangey at all. Some mineral colors, particularly saturated reds and some purples, just can’t be photographed accurately. As far as leaching, I wouldn’t store grapefruit juice in my red Fiesta pitcher, but it’s plenty safe to eat off of. But then, I do try to avoid scraping up the glaze on these plates anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/19 "2001-08-17T23:56:31Z")
Ok, now all of this info about Fiestaware is great. Really, it is. But let’s get back to getting me my Uranium! What about the backyard hypothesis? ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2001, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781/20 "2001-08-18T04:51:00Z")
What the hell do you want 20 pounds of uranium for? Required scare: If you do go through with this, I hope you take proper storage into consideration. It’s not like you can put it in a cardboard box. Radiation, especially gamma rays, is _extremely_ dangerous. In fact, the radiation will make other things radioactive. Say you keep it in your basement, in the aforementioned box. Any metal will be affected significantly. The walls will likely be affected. The radiation will easily penetrate the ceiling into the rest of the house. Also, 20 pounds of uranium will emit a hell of a lot of gamma rays, with a half-life of around 4000 years. It’s going to stay radioactive for a very long time. Plus, it’s toxic all by itself, not even taking into effect the radiation. Are you sure you want this hazard in the same location you live in? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-am-looking-to-buy-large-quatities-of-refiened-uranium/76781.md?page=2)