Uranium Assay Kit (ca. 1950s)

Uranium Assay Kit for Prospectors

This set of uranium calibration standards was designed to be used by uranium prospectors to assay their samples. It was manufactured by Applied Research Co., Inc. of Phoenix Arizona sometime in the 1950s.

The sample to be assayed was ground up with the steel mortar and pestle seen in the bottom right corner of the photograph. The ground up sample was transferred to the empty plastic vial and the emitted radiation was measured with a suitable radiation detector (e.g., a NaI or GM detector). This measurement was then compared with those obtained using the seven vials containing known concentrations of uranium ore. The uranium concentrations in these seven standards were as follows: 0.1%, 0.3%, 0.5%, 0.75%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0%. The lowest concentration in the set, 0.1% corresponded to the minimum that the federal government would purchase.

Quoting the Instruction sheet: "First Professional Set Of Calibrated Radioactive Constants For Demonstrating Radioactivity And Comparative Analysis Of Uranium Ores."

References

  • Applied Research Co. Inc., Radioassay Instruction sheet. No date
  • Bill Kolb and Paul Frame. Living With Radiation. Second edition. Syntec Inc. 2000.