Nico75 Posted April 28, 2021 Share Posted April 28, 2021 Hello there! I buy a beautiful megalodon tooth few years ago. Because I am curious I find that it is slightly radioactive ( 0.4µS/hours). I store it in a small showcase with other fossils. I read that fossilized shark teeth are made of apatite that can contain uranium and thorium. IF my tooth contain uranium, is there a risk of radon gaz accumulation in my showcase????? Thank you in advance Nicolas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misha Posted April 28, 2021 Share Posted April 28, 2021 From what I have heard many fossils like bones and teeth can contain radioactive elements, but you have to keep in mind that these are very low quantities and the materials decay very slowly so I do not think that this would cause any major issues. Many people probably have fossils that are slightly radioactive without even knowing it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nico75 Posted April 28, 2021 Author Share Posted April 28, 2021 Thank you for your quick answer Misha! I found an anwser in the forum that scares me (link below). I am not scared by radioactivity itself but release of Radon Gas. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Breakin' Rocks Posted April 28, 2021 Share Posted April 28, 2021 2 hours ago, Nico75 said: IF my tooth contain uranium This may be helpful. Digging science created a great video surrounding the subject. For shark teeth and phosphatized fossils from the East coast it would be the high energy particles given off that you should at least be aware of .. not any gasses. But the levels for most are quite low. Cheers, Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhysicist Posted April 28, 2021 Share Posted April 28, 2021 I'm assuming you measured 0.4 micro Sieverts (\mu Sv); this is equivalent to 4 BED (Banana Equivalent Dose). Radioactivity is of no concern, as you mentioned. I actually don't know if fossil teeth necessarily have apatite. You may be reading that modern teeth and bones (including ours), have apatite in them (well, a form of apatite, hydroxyapatite). You're right that naturally occurring apatite can indeed have uranium in it. You shouldn't be worried about radon accumulation at all. You could have a kilo of uranium ore (Uraninite) and be okay: https://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q9222.html "Argumentation cannot suffice for the discovery of new work, since the subtlety of Nature is greater many times than the subtlety of argument." - Carl Sagan "I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." - Richard Feynman Collections: Hell Creek Microsite | Hell Creek/Lance | Dinosaurs | Sharks | Squamates | Post Oak Creek | North Sulphur River | Lee Creek | Aguja | Permian | Devonian | Triassic | Harding Sandstone Instagram: @thephysicist_tff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nico75 Posted April 28, 2021 Author Share Posted April 28, 2021 Yes 0.4 Micro Sieverts per hours,4 BED or 4times the background radioactivity from my home. OK Thank you ThePhysicist and Brett!! then I am reassured ^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nico75 Posted April 29, 2021 Author Share Posted April 29, 2021 "Radioactivity in Fossil Shark Teeth. The fluoroapatite structure of shark teeth will absorb Uranium if present in the sediment in which the teeth reside. Over millions of years the Uranium will radioactively decay in to other radioactive elements, including Radium and its daughters. We are studying the gamma-ray spectra of fossil shark teeth of known age to determine if gamma-ray spectroscopy can be used for geochronology." source: https://www.lamar.edu/arts-sciences/physics/faculty/g_irwin.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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