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Hi Guys,
I have access to copper bus bars from around 1900's warehouse being demolished.
I know that lead that produced pre nuke era has a huge value compare to after.
Is there a higher value for old copper?
Material comes in bars and sheets size are up to 4'x8' thickness anywhere from 1" to 2"+
There are Tons of this material
I appreciate any input
thank you
Tons of free copper? Start hauling away, ask questions later.
low backround steel and lead is a interesting thing since the first bombs dropped but I did not know it had a higher value except maybe for rarity what else makes is high is it for specific stuff
There's a few reasons why Low Alpha Copper/Steel/lead etc metals have certain uses.
One is for MRI scanners, they need low amounts of radioactivity around them, that goes for the reinforcing rods in the concrete to the screws and nails in the walls, right up to the machine itself.
The other is for electronics, less radioactivity means less errors. In this case, the Lead in the solder. Its not only the atomic bombs, but the fact that once the Leads been refined and smelted and melted, it looses radioactivity over the years.
So in this case, 200 yr old Lead is worth more than 100yr old lead, and such. Where to get this Lead? Sunken ships keels.....
Scrap copper is scrap copper. If the copper you speak of has a another use, other than melting it into new copper, you could sell it as is for a higher price. Other than that, expect scrap price.
alpha radiation, the results of which has no bearing on pre or post war, it is quite literally the source from which it was mined. Crandon wisconsin for instance is a ultra low emissive mine, while the nickel mine in alberta is a high emissive mine because they have also found uranium there. alpha radiation poses no danger to humans whatsoever. When referencing low alpha lead or copper or nickel it means the metal itself is old, it has not been remelted, mined or anything for 50-70 plus years. You can buy a cold war era digital dosimeter that has filters for alpha/beta and gamma particles for about 75 dollars.
How to test for actual emissions. The standard is the create a "sample" that is exposed to the sensor tube, as clean as possible. put the beta filter on it so that your exposed only to gamma, measure the counts over sixty minutes, then measure beta...then finally take the filters off and measure alpha counts... A= Counts-Gamma and Beta. now, with the BETA filter on take a background sample. Deduct this number from A. A low alpha buyer is very specific about this and will want to know this number in microsieverts. They may ask for REM, if that's the case take your calculation and multiply by 100.
you might want to compare scrap yard prices..that will be a money maker for all involved
in fact you could cut out middle man and load a container yourself...get a broker for customs and such