Clean steel?

My understanding of this: "Unclean" steel is not radioactive because of the A-bomb tests (although we are all being exposed to roughly 3 times "natural" background radiation because of those tests. There have been several very expensive mistakes in which highly radioactive contaminants got mixed in with scrap metal going to smelters. Some of these were not detected until toys and table legs made from the scrap were being shipped to consumers. About 40% of our steel comes from recycled scrap. This scrap always seems to pick up some radioactive contamination. The 60% of steel made from virgin ore is "clean". Your 1930's scrap is still scrap -- not virgin ore. The EPA has a new program to address this problem: http://www.epa.gov/radiation/cleanmetals/ -Rob -----Original Message----- From: cctalk-admin(a)classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-admin@classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of Sellam Ismail Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2002 10:51 AM To: Classic Computers Mailing List Subject: OT: Clean steel? There are two rooms in the ACCRC building that are filled with huge old (useless) refrigeration systems. Tons of steel. We'd like to get the rooms cleared out so we can use them. We've gotten quotes in the past but all of them will end up costing us to remove the equipment since the rooms are enclosed and one of them is down a ladder with a narrow door. Everything will need to be cut up and removed piece-meal. There is also some very large equipment on the roof that will need a crane to remove. A while back we had a brief discussion about "clean steel". "Clean steel" is supposedly steel that was smelted before the first atomic bomb tests, and therefore contains no radiation. Apparently, air since the first atomic bomb test is now filled with background radiation, and because so much air is used in the smelting process, a lot of the radiation gets into modern steel making it unsuitable for some applications (such as medical test equipment where radioactive isotopes are used as part of the operation). I was thinking that because this building is so old (from the 1930s) that a lot of the steel in those rooms is "clean". I called a scrapper yesterday who has been in the business for 30+ years and is a Harvard graduate, and he said he has never, ever heard of "clean steel". So what gives? Is there a government website somewhere that defines "clean steel"? I'm hoping that the steel is actually worth enough to make it a wash to have it removed. As it stands, the quote I have so far is that we have $25/ton worth of steel and $30/ton to salvage it. Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org * Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *