Does anyone know

[7003006]

if lead absorbes radiation or reflects it or what?
At work we are remodeling a space that was formerly a doctors office or something and I'm wondering if it would be safe to use the lead sheets ,hung behind the sheetrock to stop the radiation from X-rays,for casting bullets or would melting it release the radiation or something.

 

[USAF385]

Hmm... I'd use it either way.

Either it reflects it and you'll simply have nice bullets....

OR

It absorbs it and you'll have super lethal radio active bullets! Although... this may backfire and bestow super powers upon your attackers.......

Sorry.. I really don't know the answer off hand.

 

[WC145]

I think it just blocks it, too dense for the radiation to penetrate. My wife manages the xray dept where we work, I'll ask her when she's up and let you know.

 

[FrankD45]

I think it just blocks it, too dense for the radiation to penetrate. My wife manages the xray dept where we work, I'll ask her when she's up and let you know.

I agree. I remember something about the lead being so dense that it slows down the x-rays to the point where they are no longer dangerous. I also think the resulting bullets will give you an edge when dealing with zombies.

Frank

 

[22dec]

I worked on a hospital remodeling project tearing out an old x-ray room. We just tore out the lead. I think if there was a radiation problem with the lead, it would been a haz-mat operation. Should be no problem using the lead.

Don

 

[WC145]

Okay, I just got off the phone with my wife. She said that all the lead does is block the radiation, it does not absorb it. Any radiation that is not absorbed by the patient, the buckey (the thing that hold the film or digital cartridge), or the cartridge itself, and any "side scatter" (radiation on the edges of the beam not absorbed by the other stuff) is very weak and is stopped by the lead and just dissipates because it has a very short half life.

So, after she dumbed it all down so I could understand what she was talking about, the end result is that you just hit the mother lode! The only thing question is the composition, she believes that it is pure lead, not an alloy, so you will probably have to look at adding some tin to harden the bullets depending on the applications and velocities.

BTW, you question has also paid off for me. I just bought a couple of .45-70's and want to start handloading for them. I had planned to be buying all my bullets but since she has a bunch of old lead aprons that can no longer be used because of pin holes in them she's going to give them to me instead of throwing them out so I can try casting my own!

 

[Alpo]

Think of xrays like a light bulb. You turn the switch on, and light is produced. You turn the switch off, and light stops. You put something in the way of the bulb (say, a sheet of notebook paper), and some light will go through and some won't. Some of the light penetrates and some is absorbed by the paper. You put something denser in front of the bulb (say, a wooden board) and no light will get through. All of the light is absorbed by the board. Turn the switch off and the light stops. Look at the board. Is there any light on the board? No. Why? The switch is off.

Xray works the same. You turn the switch on, the electrons fly over and hit the target, producing the x-radiation. The x-radiation goes out and hits the film, turning it black. If something is in the way (say, your leg), your leg blocks and absorbs some of the radiation, but some will still get through. So the spot on the film where your leg was will be lighter than the area that was not covered. And since bone is denser than flesh, where the bone is in your leg will be lighter than where just the muscle is. But when the machine is turned off, the radiation is gone. Your leg is not radioactive. The film is not radioactive. The table you were lying on when they shot the picture is not radioactive. And the lead lining the walls is not radioactive.

You have "penetrating radiation" (which is what xrays are) and you have "radioactive material" (which the fallout after a nuclear explosion would be). But no amount of exposure to penetrating radiation will make a material radioactive.

 

[S42N8]

Alpo wrote:

"You have "penetrating radiation" (which is what xrays are) and you have "radioactive material" (which the fallout after a nuclear explosion would be). But no amount of exposure to penetrating radiation will make a material radioactive. "

____________________
OK, since I had problems getting back on the Forum, I've used up my Holiday Inn Express points for today What Alpo wrote is technically true, but not altogether accurate... depends on your age and medical history. BLUF: There are various types of radiation exposure; induced radioactivity can make a material radioactive.

Induced radioactivity is most commonly caused by exposure to Cobalt-60 or Cesium-137, both of which are gamma-ray sources. Today's hospital X-ray machines don't use either; they are used in food irradiation and other industrial applications.

Cobalt-60 was, however, used for many years in hospital X-ray machines. You certainly could get a low-level ionizing exposure from Cobalt-60, which is one reason why modern X-ray machines use linear accelerators. (The other is that Cobalt-60's half-life is ~5.3 years, which means it has to be replaced periodically.) The worst-case issue is generally from inadequate disposal (e.g., the 1984 Juarez incident, which involved an old Cobalt-60 device, mistakenly torn apart in a Juarez junkyard. Nasty cleanup.)

The other forms of induced radioactivity are rare: neutron weapons (ugh), lots of time in nuclear reactors, and continued exposure to high levels of background radiation.

So, for us geezers, the possibility of induced radiation is really really low, but *could* have happened. Actually, repeated MRI exposure is the most significant risk factor today... that, or radon exposure (which is the most likely scenario) or living in some godforsaken places in Iran, China, or Brazil where the background level is so high that you can rack up a good dose over a lifetime.

 

[montezumaz]

Check your groupings...

Reloads that glow in the dark!

 

[Stubborn Dutchman]

Lot's of guys over at Castboolits.com would kill for such a find. My dentist gives me all thier used tabs. A full box usually yields about five pounds, but I'm happy to get it. Wanna share your find? (grin)

 

[7003006]

Thanks for the good explanations guys.Looks like I hit the jackpot.

 

[Mercury]

WC45,

Unfortunately, those old lead aprons will be of no use to you. They're not made of lead sheeting like the material that's used to line the walls of the room. They're made of lead dust that's suspended in a rubber base. This allows the apron to be flexible and resist cracking, which will occur eventually.

If you can dissolve away the rubber (or whatever) base, you'd be GTG, but I think that it'll be more trouble than it's worth.

See if your wife can get some of the old lead the next time her facility renovates a radiology room and you'll be in business.

 

[EvelMe]

Score! Looks like you hit the jackpot, indeed!

 

[mountaingun629]

X-Ray lead

Not to sidetrack the thread, but does the new type of X-Rays use the same type shielding?
My dentist's X-Rays are done by computer instead of the old film method, and gives an instant read-out. They still use the lead impregnated shield over the chest as before.

Also, I used to work construction where lead sheeting was used in X-Ray room walls and as sound deadening material to cut aircraft noise in buildings (schools). I am pretty sure that this material was about pure dead-soft lead.

Myron

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

Lot's of guys over at Castboolits.com would kill for such a find.

No doubt. That's a heck of a find.

 

[WC145]

WC45,

Unfortunately, those old lead aprons will be of no use to you. They're not made of lead sheeting like the material that's used to line the walls of the room. They're made of lead dust that's suspended in a rubber base. This allows the apron to be flexible and resist cracking, which will occur eventually.

If you can dissolve away the rubber (or whatever) base, you'd be GTG, but I think that it'll be more trouble than it's worth.

See if your wife can get some of the old lead the next time her facility renovates a radiology room and you'll be in business.

Well, that sucks. I wondered how they would suspend it in the aprons, they're too flexible to be sheets.

I guess I'll be looking for wheel weights, our little hospital won't be doing those kind of renovations for years and years.

 

[WC145]

Not to sidetrack the thread, but does the new type of X-Rays use the same type shielding?
My dentist's X-Rays are done by computer instead of the old film method, and gives an instant read-out. They still use the lead impregnated shield over the chest as before.

Also, I used to work construction where lead sheeting was used in X-Ray room walls and as sound deadening material to cut aircraft noise in buildings (schools). I am pretty sure that this material was about pure dead-soft lead.

Myron

Digital xray machines work the same way as film, it's the processing that is different. Instead of shooting onto film they shoot onto a cartridge and download the images into a computer so they can be viewed on a monitor. The cartridges are reusable so they don't have to deal with film, chemicals, a dark room, etc. I assume it's the same for dental xrays.

 

[mountaingun629]

WC145 -
That is about what I thought.
Just wonder if they still need as much shielding behind the drywall or if the radiation intensity is lower so it doesn't take as much.

Wish I could have glommed onto some of the leftover material from a couple of construction jobs years ago. It may have ended up in the dumpster when the job was finished. Couldn't quite figure out how to get dibbs on it.

Myron