Uranium Mines in Capitol Reef National Park 

While the levels aren't anything crazy, it's funny how places like Japan and Ukraine will limit access to even lower-level pollution zones (10 microSV/h) while the US allows literally anyone to walk up and touch raw uranium ore if they want. Just a little, as a treat. Appreciate the videos, you've earned a sub and I hope you keep them coming for a long time!

Found this Channel a week ago, absolutely love the quality of these videos, and the history of them. 10/10 keep it up.

The uranium mineralization is localized in the various channel scours of the basal Triassic Chinle formation. A well-known source of uranium in the Colorado Plateau.

I see a video from Radioactive Drew and I immediately watch.

This is my new favorite channel. Former National Park Ranger here and huge rockhound/radiation nerd. Your videos are stellar. You would have made a great interpretive Ranger yourself. A natural. I tried applying at Manhattan Project NHS here in Oak Ridge, TN to no avail. Now I am going for Computer Science at the local college so we can afford to move back out west where I left my heart 4 years ago… i miss all of the years of rockhounding in east UT and west CO.

least they put those signs in there so the bats know it's radioactive too

Your brilliant keep up the brilliant video only just started watching today and I already love your Chanel keep up the amazing work

The fall hazard is definitely a higher risk than the radiation dose.

I just found this channel a few days ago. I love it so much. Radiation history/science is niche interest of mine so I’m glad there’s a whole channel dedicated to it.

Great job, enjoy seeing the many old mines and the beautiful surroundings.

I was waiting for this one! I live pretty close to Capital Reef and I've spent a decent amount of time checking out this site

Sick video, really glad I found your channel Drew!

Another great video Drew! You be safe out there and try not to fall off any cliffs!

I love this, I really want to visit a spot like this someday. Also love the shots and sound quality, it's really immersive and calming.

I got myself a Radiacode 102 and I love it keep up the awesome videos Drew 😃

Always a good day Radioactive Drew drops a new video!

That was an awesome video! You are brave climbing up and down from the nines with a camera in your hand! That area is really beautiful and the geology of the rocks is neat! Those lower nines have a lot of radioactivity outside the bat gates! It's pretty amazing! Thanks for sharing Drew! Can't wait for the Oppenheimer video!

Epic how you film this in 4K, quality is great thanks for uploading. Haven't seen content like this since BioNerd !

Always enjoy your videos man!! Thanks again for sharing! 👍

Hello Drew. There are so many things I want to compliment you on and a couple of questions that have been pressing on my mind. It would mean so much to me if you would take a couple of seconds to read my comment. I wanted to start off by saying that I find what you are doing to be extraordinary beneficial to countering the wast amount of misinformation that exists about radioactivity and things that are radioactive. I personally believe that, especially in these days, there is a high amount of misinformation that is circulation around revolving radiation that causes a lot of unnecessary fear and discomfort. I think that these videos show that radiation can be safe, and in many cases, fun when understood correctly and managed safely. I originally was looking for Geiger counters to buy when I came across your video explaining on the benefits of certain Geiger counters over others. You in turn convinced me that the GQ gmc-320 was the best option for me and also introduced me to the wide world of dosimetry. Over the next couple of months, I would add a few more Geiger counters to my collection and soon realised that I wanted to be serious about this. It was then that I decided I wanted a Radeye B20-er and began on my quest to obtain one. The process took a while, but I was able to obtain one for a extremely good price and as I am writing this, I am just a few days from shipping it to Thermo Fisher to be serviced and calibrated. Now, when it first arrived, I played around with it for a while and noticed that I could figure out how to change the units that it was reading in. I was wondering if you could provide me any insights on that as this is completely new to me. Along with that, I was wondering if you knew any tips or tricks for the Radeye as I can assume that the B20-er and the B20 are very similar. If you have made your way to the end of this, then I want to thank you very much for giving me the time and making some of the most amazing and educational videos there are about radiation. I hope that you have a wonderful day and keep up the amazing, high quality work. Thank you for your time. Also, here’s a video of everything not do do with radiation where bionerd23 finds an old Chernobyl fuel pellet fragment at over 100mSv/h. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ejZyDvtX85Y.html.

My father and my moms cousin staked the claim to what later became The Rio Algum Lisbon Valley mine near Moab 17 years 24/7 until prices dropped. 250 employees lost their jobs when itt shut down Refinery for the Western slope of the Rockies built at that site. At six years old I would camp with my dad when he was doing small deposits. My dad in 1962 said the Lisbon valley claim would never amount to anything and gave it to my moms cousin..LOL An attorney in Denver ended up getting the royalties. I visited the mine when it was shutting down..one guy in the office complex doing paperwork for the EPA and tending the dewatering pumps. The offices, shop and headframe were still in place. All that is visible now is three small lakes. As a six year old I loved camping and exploring the desert around the small mines...I'm 77 now...

Thanks Drew!

Love your adventures throughout the west . We used to ride our dirt bikes all over where you been . But didn’t know about this Now I’m old guy still loving geology and enthuse more about radioactive material ore and useful electronics. Would love to discuss more with you . Thank you for the vast info you provide on your Excursions . Thumbs up! Just purchased a Radacode 102 to add to my arsenal

I’m glad they put bat gates on the mines so we can have radioactive bats.

another awesome video!

Fascinating video, beautiful photography as always. I had to hold onto my chair as you were descending. Looking forward to your 70mm/Oppenheimer video.

If you find a horizontal adit near Moab with a petrified tree you had to climb over to reach the back of the mine..LOL I was six years old at the time and would camp with my dad and cousin in the summer..found fossils all over the place in the slot canyons. We would picnic at Arches Monument when it took a jeep to get to the cavern..watch out for rattlesnakes under the eock slabs in back...LOL

I so wish I lived closer to one of the 70mm IMAX theaters showing Oppenheimer. Very cool that those two parts of your life have intersected right now!

Thanks Drew! Speaking of Oppenheimer, I did something you would get a chuckle out of. I took my piece of Trinitite to see Oppenheimer. Wanted to help it celebrate its birthday & let it see a movie about how it was born!!

What killed the uranium mining in Utah was it was all low grade. We get better stuff out of Australia.

Great video, I always wanted to see a mine. Thanks.

Best radiation hunt channel of youtube.

I bought a Radiacode 102 on your recommendation, perhaps before they were sponsoring videos. I've had the chance to use it in the field and it's great!

Beautiful park!

What an amazing looking place , looks like the set from 1960s startrek series :)

Awesome! :D I recently bought a gmc-300s, and I found some uranium glass in an antique shop.

Thanks man

Decently Radioactive --- Love this content.

Nice little Uraninite patch there.

That's some spicy rock at the 2nd entrance you checked out.

Just found your channel and man you are a legend ! Fking love your video

I'm literally resarching for new uranium mines rn and you upload a video xD

This might be my favorite of all your videos. Something about the magic of the music (even if you're huffing & puffing a little) and that little "dental x-ray" chunk next to the 2nd door. It also makes me wonder if the bats that roost there have dvp'd resistance to radiation over generations.

Amazing!!

I'd like to see you go back to a mine you can actually get inside. I know they can be dangerous and tricky to find, but I enjoy living vicariously through you. :)

When you don’t hear counts but a flat line you know it’s serious or your in trouble

Another good one; got caught up on the end of the video with that blue green "box" in the background. Hoping this is in your home state. Need some clackety clack sound efx.

Forgot to say that it really blew my mind when you got a higher radiation reading out in the dirt road in front of the mine, than you did at the actual mine as well!!! You've got WAY more balls than I do!!

Thanks for risking your neck so we didn't have to. Very interesting discovery about the 70 mSvrts/hr rock.

Kudos to having to climb that one mine twice

My favorite part of my favorite state.

Am I the only one that would totally like a sample of the rocks around video marker 3:10? That would be so awesome!

Hello Drew, great video as always. Could you explain what is the difference between CPM and standard radiation measure units, like uSv? How many "counts per minute" are actually dangerous?

Thank you Drew, great video of an interesting area. I enjoyed your video and information. I would like to borrow your tella-port transport device.

UTAH,,LOOK DOWN IN INDIAN CREEK/ROAD TO CANYONLANDS...NEVER SEEN RADION SIGNS BUT LOTS SUDAMS YELLOW CAKE AND MINES..THANK YOU

Cool.

Just what we need with all the other problems the World faces. Radioactive bats! 🦇 ☢️ Thank you, really enjoyed your video 😀

How was the stuff mined? Was it high enough of a dose that workers had to work in short shifts and swap out? Edit: oops, commented to soon. I see you answered later. I’m only 4min into vid.

Radiation doesn't worry me and bats don't worry me... but radioactive bats do worry me! 🦇☢🤣

Wow! When I drove through Capitol Reef I had no idea! :O I wonder how the miners got up to the mine with their equipment.

Pure quality history!!

Capital Reef was my favorite park - I didnt know about the mines through.

Crazy they use to glaze bowls and plates with uranium.

Really enjoy the style of your videos and your enthusiasm. I need to move out west to explore, so intriguing to me. This is the place that redefined the world that it is today, for better or for worse. I think our country could be more constructive with this than produce things destructive…just a thought.

What is the bag you are using? I'm always looking for a good bag to carry when I explore. Thank you for your wonderful videos.

From Australia, nice video, and the US does look a nice place there. Unfortunately we have a lot of bed wetters scared of nuclear power so guess we just mine it for Uncle Sam and other friends.

Cool stuff as usual! In my opinion it would be beneficial to start mining the uranium again we could really use some safe nuclear power to help boost our electric grid’s.

I know you've done this a couple of times, would you mind in your next video going over how much radiation is too much ? Thanks! Keep the videos coming.😊

thanks for the interesting videos. did the gamma spectroscopy came with the radiacode 102? Which elements did it show at the mine? Thanks.

Just so happened to find your channel a few minutes ago and saw this video was just uploaded, which is super cool. Quick question, how do you protect yourself against the radiation you expose yourself to in these videos? The Geiger counter screaming at you while your arms are exposed with just a t-shirt kinda freaks me out haha. Is the radiation more insignificant than I'm thinking it is? Anywho, your channel is really interesting!

You spend a lot of time at abandoned mines. I would be interested in seeing a video about how modern uranium mining is done. Any mining company that has seen your videos will know that you're not hostile to the industry.

Forgive me if this is a rude question (yes, I could search myself), I'm interested in your videos of UV active and radioactive minerals. Which areas do they occur in and/or titles of your videos? TIA

Man, I wish I could tag along for these video's. Not just because I'm interested in the content but because the scenery is fantastic. If I could ride my WR450 there, too then I'd be in my element. BBQ there ar the end of the day. Becquerels, bikes and BBQs. Good name for a channel maybe.

Big question how dangerous is the counts nearby the mines if not right on top of the mines

Do you have any history or photos of the Rio Agum Lisbon Valley mine? My dad and mom's cousin struck that claim in 1952...ran 24/7 for years with refinery at the site..250 employees lost their jobs when it closed and buried.. .

Just curious, could you do a video explaining generally how uranium is deposited into rocks? Just mainly interested in why certain sedimentary rock is radioactive.

Your videos are super interesting, just subbed. Would you not be concerned about breathing in rock dust at that place though? I'm sure you know what you're doing, and honestly; the apparent riskiness is part of the appeal of your channel anyway. That and your able cinematography.

I just got myself a radiacode 102. It's pretty cool. Have you ever been to any radioactive places in southern Louisiana?

@RadioactiveDrew, I'm going to be driving back west on i70 in a month, any relatively easy uranium mines and camping in the Moab region you might recommend? I won't be in a 4x4, but I don't mine driving on dirt/gravel.

This might be a dumb question that I could probably find the answer to by Googling. But are there any active uranium mines around the U.S.? Or have they all pretty much been shutdown?

Thanks Drew, how radioactive is the Colorado river, have you made a video on it?

I’ve always wanted to know / calculate the dose rate per HOUR on a dental xray. We know how much you get, yes…but what is the shutter speed?? See what I am saying or getting at? If I knew the shutter speed, I could calculate what it would be as if the shutter was left open for an hour. Food for thought. Awesome video Drew, thanks for posting. I actually just sold my SEI Rad Alert Ranger (super nice unit though) - I want something with a higher range for a “bad situation meter” I don’t think a max of 1,000 micro sieverts is going to be useful in a bad situation. A lot of these survey meters have a max of 1,0000 micro sieverts. Looking at the gmc-500plus, it has a high range of 47,000 micro or 47 mili sieverts. Which would be more useful as a “bad situation” survey meter. They are tools, and there is not a “do it all” model available really, I plan on having two. One with high sensitivity, like s radiacode 101 and one with a higher range (possibly the 500plus or something else)

I got a rock producing 300 uSv/h of gamma only should I be worried ? Its well contained but still get some X-ray and gamma going through shielding

What geological signs would they look for back in the 40s to determine where to mine? Cool video as Always 👍

Have you ever been in one thats still operating? Ive had the opportunity to work in a few, all surface though.

woah

Looks like Mars.

I wonder if the government is really doing those bats a favor by letting them roost night after night in a radioactive mine 😬

How is a bat abel to live i radioactiv cave without getting sick? I dont think 2 dental xrays pr hour 24/7 sounds healty.

Free yellow cake!

that's crazy there's ore just hanging out on the outside of the gate. Imagine someone eating there and getting some dirt on their sandwich. Life expectancy cut in half.

why do you have that yellow counter when you have a Radiacode 102?

Question: Do you ever worry about dose over time with effects on your health?

How do this uranium mineral deposits form in the sandstone?

What does the Radeye do that the Radiacode doesn't and/or visa versa?

Anyone know which radiation detector he's using that has a program that will calculate which isotopes he's encountering?

Have you been to Pima's Titan Missile Museum?

My wife asked me a really good question yesterday about these uranium mines. Wondered how the workers protected themselves from the radiation while mining these deposits out? I know things back in the day with safety was non existent in most industrial work environments compared to todays work safety standards. Any help with this would be appreciated.

Question... I had a Vietnam Era military compass painted with radium stored in a plastic container near my bed for over a decade. How dangerous would this be in retrospect for my health? I am quite worried about the radiation from my research.... very worried in fact. My grandfather gave this to me not knowing it was painted with radium. Should I be concerned? Thanks

Wonder how much radon is coming out of those holes?