I went to the mine today, with all necessary permission and I was looking for Torbernite and Uraninite but I couldn't find a sufficient sample in the time although I got readings of 98ySv at one point and started digging very close to where shown in the video, seeing where the earth was disturbed from the crew. Every inch I dug, the readings increased by around 3ySv and I was sure if I kept digging that I'd find a good sample but it got dark and I didn't want to stumble around the old shaft in the night. I also tried looking for the portal but couldn't find it although I'm sure I found the field, just couldn't get exactly up to it. I really would like to visit the site again in the future but next time I need to find a mineral sample - at least something that glows.
@@drspastic I'm not entirely sure but I asked a guy renting the cottage on the site. I knocked the door which was being guarded by the dog, Daisy and he said about a company and I can't remember the name of it now but I know they own some more mines near Wheal Owles. He gave me permission to go on the site but said that normally he would have to report any unauthorised visitors to the site to this company because of the danger to themself by being on such an active site and probably to save their own asses due to insurance claims. Apparently the ground has been very unstable recently and there was a large collapse a couple of weeks before I went and he said there's about an 150 foot vertical hole - they've tried filling it but it keeps re-opening. The guy himself said he's got geiger counters rigged around the cottage because of the high radiation and if they go above a certain level, they bleep and he has to leave immediately and await the company to come and pump the house of any radon gas present. He also mentioned that various international science research organisations had visited the site recently and found one spot (round the back if the cottage and in some woods in an old courtyard dug out of the cliff for ore storage (for pitcheblende (Uraninite(UO2/U3O8))), where the radiation levels reached so high - unfortunately he didn't know the reading they found but they told him "if you spent the night there in a sleeping bag, you'd be a piece of charcoal when you woke up; which you wouldn't." My Radalert 100X geiger counter reached a background of 98ySv at one stage on the site and kept fluctuating. This guy also told me that when it rains, the radiation levels spike because of the high volumes of uranium oxide ores that wash to the surface among other substances. I just remember the name of the company - it's Botallack. There's a sign on a post with a number you can call to get permission to access the site.
Radon gas is electrically charged and sticks to clothes, it decays to highly radioactive Lead-214 and Bismuth-214 that sticks to skin and clothes. This is called Radon Plate-out. These isotopes have a have a half life of 27 and 20 minutes, so after a day they decay to zero. Not sure why the Terra was giving a slightly higher reading, they both use the same tube, the SBM-20-1. Perhaps the Terra got contaminated in the mine.
I just watched your awesome video about the cables in Cornwall it was so interesting i watched it 3 times , and im gonna watch it a few more times too , then i subscribed now im watching this my mind is blown your content is so amazing seriously interesting stuff who on earth would have ever thought radiation would just be lurking about in the open like this , my mind is blown away your videos are so awesome i love the music the drone footage and the way you narrate every thing is so special . i am a huge fan from the get go cant wait to investigate all the videos brilliant work to you and all who help you ,
You still need a basic geiger counter for some of those dry dusty locations I've seen you visit. Gly also, really. That Radex 1503 is only $50 delivered on ebay! :)
great vid, wouldnt mind a little background commentary (occasionally) about the cave location/area/history during some of the empty shots, maybe the drone shots. excellent content overall! maybe slightly quieter / slower music. but honestly, dont take youtube comments too seriously either. i just see you becoming really big soon is all. just simple text on the screen would be good enough. thanks! anything about an explored cave / discovery / local caves can help immensely with mental visualization and passion for said cave, seeing as its unexplored.
Yes, I'd never heard of the mine before, and there was lots of information. My only negative comment is that I would have enjoyed it far more without the annoying music, which made your quieter conversations difficult to follow. Why is the music there? Did one of you think it added something?
I remember when I visited the site 7 months ago it was a spectacular time I was so happy, when I got close to the bridge my inspector and Radiacode 101 was going crazy more than the terra they have on video.
just done this site and found a bad ass gamma source about a foot down on the tip behind the chimney. a stone with one tiny dark crystal in it that seems to be the source. my counter maxed out at 200uS and reads over 100 through 3 sheets of thick roofing lead. any ideas what beast I have raised? also some nice yellow UO2 nuggets and a chunk of pitchblende from owles.
Great video, if I may offer some advice I'd like less music. Just a personal preference from watching other great mine exploring vids. Keep up the good work :)
Hi Mark. Thanks for the great video. Apologies if I’m over worrying. I’m staying 0.3 miles from here in a holiday cottage with my young children. I didn’t realise this was here until after I arrived. Do you think I have anything to worry about? I’m a complete novice in this field (I’m here for a week, a little anxious!)
Are you guys going back to South Terras at some time, I went to Wheal Owles in Sep & got readings around 35sv but am not sure it my terra was set up right I did not have enough time to visit Sth Terras but maybe next yr. Pete
@Oliver Mayo Hi Oliver, I'm a relitively newcomer to this & appreciate you correcting me, I have'nt quite worked out all the different settings, nor understand the workings of my Teppa MK5 as I do not anyone in the Herts area thats got one who could show me a few tips. Regards Peter
Thats all you will get at owles. Maybe a lucky chunk will read 6uS up close. Terras is where the hot stuff lives. Its amazing how the natural environment is unaffected
What a shame the background noise/music spoilt this. Great vid, but please drop the racket and then we can hear what yr saying etc, plz do more without the 'music'.
You have a volume control, turn it down. Plenty of history on the site on the internet, its not my job to spoonfeed you with content you want. I make videos how I want them to look and sound.
@@MarkThomasChannel i didnt want to turn the sound down ,i wanted to listen to what was being said ,and id have thought part of putting vids up was to educate people , and i dont class a little bit ove information as being spood fed
@@MarkThomasChannel Love your videos and the information you put across. I would love to join you chaps on mine Investigations. I have Cornish heritage and have been collecting geological samples for years. After the Inspiration I got from some of your videos I went out and found a great sample of Pitchblend. Also see the articles today about about the mysterious rise in radiation in the southern area around St Stephen. Well done mate.
Radon exposure is pretty serious! From a brief encounter I doubt you'd be in trouble but with those readings I'd want to be wearing a proper mask. Those are seriously high readings!
Decontamination of the skin is fine...decontamination of the lungs is a different matter. If the clothes are covered in radioactive dust, so are the lungs inside...lungs are where people get cancers mostly when spending time in these mines. But of course, it's much worse to be a uranium miner than someone just spending a few hours in this environment.
Im from penwith origionally. Cornwall west Devon and Aberdeenshire the worst places in UK for Radon. My next door neighbour got lung cancer and they discovered high Radon put a sump in his house nasty stuff if long term exposure.
This is absolutely insane, you should not have gone inside the adit itself, the internal radon dose you would have recieved is basically a guaranteed lung cancer dose and could have been well into the 20mSv range depending on time. Its just not worth it considering how little is left in the adit itself.
The 20mSv dose is two full-body CT scans, but that is from direct gamma and beta radiation from the mine wallrock. The problem wit radon is that it has been measured at up to 3 million Bq/m³ and compared to a typical house of 50 Bq/m³ that is about 150 years exposure in 1 hour. A Geiger counter does not measure radon.
I-131 (what your thyroid collects through ingestion) is not naturally occurring. Nor could your body absorb it so quickly. It gets into the body through contaminated food. No way you're going to get readings from thyroid concentration from visiting a mine. Rather, body contamination from dust and Radon decay products.
Great video! Silly bastards though, and I definitely wouldnt by a used Geiger counter from any of you. Have you ever heard of polythene? .......I still enjoyed the video though, you crazy dudes!
I went to the mine today, with all necessary permission and I was looking for Torbernite and Uraninite but I couldn't find a sufficient sample in the time although I got readings of 98ySv at one point and started digging very close to where shown in the video, seeing where the earth was disturbed from the crew. Every inch I dug, the readings increased by around 3ySv and I was sure if I kept digging that I'd find a good sample but it got dark and I didn't want to stumble around the old shaft in the night. I also tried looking for the portal but couldn't find it although I'm sure I found the field, just couldn't get exactly up to it. I really would like to visit the site again in the future but next time I need to find a mineral sample - at least something that glows.
Who owns the site now? I went without permission after spending some time trying to find who to ask. Will come back next year for another try
@@drspastic I'm not entirely sure but I asked a guy renting the cottage on the site. I knocked the door which was being guarded by the dog, Daisy and he said about a company and I can't remember the name of it now but I know they own some more mines near Wheal Owles. He gave me permission to go on the site but said that normally he would have to report any unauthorised visitors to the site to this company because of the danger to themself by being on such an active site and probably to save their own asses due to insurance claims. Apparently the ground has been very unstable recently and there was a large collapse a couple of weeks before I went and he said there's about an 150 foot vertical hole - they've tried filling it but it keeps re-opening. The guy himself said he's got geiger counters rigged around the cottage because of the high radiation and if they go above a certain level, they bleep and he has to leave immediately and await the company to come and pump the house of any radon gas present. He also mentioned that various international science research organisations had visited the site recently and found one spot (round the back if the cottage and in some woods in an old courtyard dug out of the cliff for ore storage (for pitcheblende (Uraninite(UO2/U3O8))), where the radiation levels reached so high - unfortunately he didn't know the reading they found but they told him "if you spent the night there in a sleeping bag, you'd be a piece of charcoal when you woke up; which you wouldn't." My Radalert 100X geiger counter reached a background of 98ySv at one stage on the site and kept fluctuating. This guy also told me that when it rains, the radiation levels spike because of the high volumes of uranium oxide ores that wash to the surface among other substances. I just remember the name of the company - it's Botallack. There's a sign on a post with a number you can call to get permission to access the site.
How did you manage to get the relevant permissions from the landlord ?
Boconnoc Estates in Lostwithiel are the landlords.
@@doctorstrabismus7290 I think that is for the farmland but the regulations for the mine I believe are governed by Botallack.
Proper job there lads. Good stuff 👍
Great stuff, excellent fun following your exploits.
Radon gas is electrically charged and sticks to clothes, it decays to highly radioactive Lead-214 and Bismuth-214 that sticks to skin and clothes. This is called Radon Plate-out. These isotopes have a have a half life of 27 and 20 minutes, so after a day they decay to zero. Not sure why the Terra was giving a slightly higher reading, they both use the same tube, the SBM-20-1. Perhaps the Terra got contaminated in the mine.
I just watched your awesome video about the cables in Cornwall it was so interesting i watched it 3 times , and im gonna watch it a few more times too , then i subscribed now im watching this my mind is blown your content is so amazing seriously interesting stuff who on earth would have ever thought radiation would just be lurking about in the open like this , my mind is blown away your videos are so awesome i love the music the drone footage and the way you narrate every thing is so special . i am a huge fan from the get go cant wait to investigate all the videos brilliant work to you and all who help you ,
Great video... You definitely went for it on this one.
You still need a basic geiger counter for some of those dry dusty locations I've seen you visit. Gly also, really. That Radex 1503 is only $50 delivered on ebay! :)
great vid, wouldnt mind a little background commentary (occasionally) about the cave location/area/history during some of the empty shots, maybe the drone shots. excellent content overall! maybe slightly quieter / slower music. but honestly, dont take youtube comments too seriously either. i just see you becoming really big soon is all. just simple text on the screen would be good enough. thanks! anything about an explored cave / discovery / local caves can help immensely with mental visualization and passion for said cave, seeing as its unexplored.
Yes, I'd never heard of the mine before, and there was lots of information. My only negative comment is that I would have enjoyed it far more without the annoying music, which made your quieter conversations difficult to follow. Why is the music there? Did one of you think it added something?
I remember when I visited the site 7 months ago it was a spectacular time I was so happy, when I got close to the bridge my inspector and Radiacode 101 was going crazy more than the terra they have on video.
Torches? Does it not glow in the dark?
Youve cross contaminated your meters at almost every point, i am not even sure you know what you are doing.
just done this site and found a bad ass gamma source about a foot down on the tip behind the chimney. a stone with one tiny dark crystal in it that seems to be the source. my counter maxed out at 200uS and reads over 100 through 3 sheets of thick roofing lead. any ideas what beast I have raised? also some nice yellow UO2 nuggets and a chunk of pitchblende from owles.
radium, should glow in the dark.
Great video, if I may offer some advice I'd like less music. Just a personal preference from watching other great mine exploring vids. Keep up the good work :)
Great video
Hi Mark. Thanks for the great video. Apologies if I’m over worrying. I’m staying 0.3 miles from here in a holiday cottage with my young children. I didn’t realise this was here until after I arrived. Do you think I have anything to worry about? I’m a complete novice in this field
(I’m here for a week, a little anxious!)
No you should be fine, as long as you don’t get too close!
@@charlieashfieldbennett3762 thanks Charlie, really appreciate the note 🙂👍 gives us some comfort
Whats the grey / black dosimeter you are using? I have a yellow terra p. Cheers Steve
It's the Terra!, Slightly better spec than the Terra P
I had the chance to buy some Pitchblende a few years back off ebay, sadly at the time I was skint!
You can’t buy it anymore
Are you guys going back to South Terras at some time, I went to Wheal Owles in Sep & got readings around 35sv but am not sure it my terra was set up right I did not have enough time to visit Sth Terras but maybe next yr.
Pete
@Oliver Mayo Hi Oliver,
I'm a relitively newcomer to this & appreciate you correcting me, I have'nt quite worked out all the different settings, nor understand the workings of my Teppa MK5 as I do not anyone in the Herts area thats got one who could show me a few tips.
Regards
Peter
Thats all you will get at owles. Maybe a lucky chunk will read 6uS up close. Terras is where the hot stuff lives. Its amazing how the natural environment is unaffected
The tip at wheal Edward has some good stuff. Plenty of rocks with gamma only readings in excess of 100uSv/h
@@drspasticI've had much better luck at wheal Edward then terras. Owles isn't so good for some reason
Wanted to poke around in there for a while, should I manage to get down that way. Cheers for the vid.
What a shame the background noise/music spoilt this. Great vid, but please drop the racket and then we can hear what yr saying etc, plz do more without the 'music'.
No, I will make them how I want. You are the only miser to complain!
@@MarkThomasChannel reading the comments shows that I'm not the only one. Never mind, shame yr attitude is so negative.
guys can we kill the music pls , and a little bit ove history behind each video wud be great
You have a volume control, turn it down. Plenty of history on the site on the internet, its not my job to spoonfeed you with content you want. I make videos how I want them to look and sound.
@@MarkThomasChannel i didnt want to turn the sound down ,i wanted to listen to what was being said ,and id have thought part of putting vids up was to educate people , and i dont class a little bit ove information as being spood fed
@@MarkThomasChannel Love your videos and the information you put across. I would love to join you chaps on mine Investigations. I have Cornish heritage and have been collecting geological samples for years. After the Inspiration I got from some of your videos I went out and found a great sample of Pitchblend.
Also see the articles today about about the mysterious rise in radiation in the southern area around St Stephen. Well done mate.
great video need to have a look
Radon exposure is pretty serious! From a brief encounter I doubt you'd be in trouble but with those readings I'd want to be wearing a proper mask. Those are seriously high readings!
Jordan Whyte it’s making Chernobyl look like it has no radiation at all. And I’ve been three times and had my own personal counter!
Yeah, radon is the potential (i.e. real) issue here. A suitable mask would most definitely be prudent attire for explorations like this!
Cut out the music guys
Literally the only negative comment amongst hundreds. Go take your negativity somewhere else
Decontamination of the skin is fine...decontamination of the lungs is a different matter. If the clothes are covered in radioactive dust, so are the lungs inside...lungs are where people get cancers mostly when spending time in these mines. But of course, it's much worse to be a uranium miner than someone just spending a few hours in this environment.
Im from penwith origionally. Cornwall west Devon and Aberdeenshire the worst places in UK for Radon. My next door neighbour got lung cancer and they discovered high Radon put a sump in his house nasty stuff if long term exposure.
250 uSv? Yeah right! I've got some bad news for you about your lungs...
This is absolutely insane, you should not have gone inside the adit itself, the internal radon dose you would have recieved is basically a guaranteed lung cancer dose and could have been well into the 20mSv range depending on time. Its just not worth it considering how little is left in the adit itself.
@@radnerd17 still ok, 8 years later. Been in multiple times since this visit.
@@MarkThomasChannel You are insane 😂
The 20mSv dose is two full-body CT scans, but that is from direct gamma and beta radiation from the mine wallrock. The problem wit radon is that it has been measured at up to 3 million Bq/m³ and compared to a typical house of 50 Bq/m³ that is about 150 years exposure in 1 hour. A Geiger counter does not measure radon.
Yikes! It's like bloody Pripyat!!
Most interesting..!
amazing video
more radioactivity videos
Breathing air contaminated with radon without a respirator? That's some #yolo attitude
after putting the geiger counter to my thyroid, it went up to around 80 microsieverts, as seen in the latter part of the video- scary! :)
I-131 (what your thyroid collects through ingestion) is not naturally occurring. Nor could your body absorb it so quickly. It gets into the body through contaminated food.
No way you're going to get readings from thyroid concentration from visiting a mine. Rather, body contamination from dust and Radon decay products.
Great video! Silly bastards though, and I definitely wouldnt by a used Geiger counter from any of you. Have you ever heard of polythene? .......I still enjoyed the video though, you crazy dudes!
Kernowbyl
Martyn M. Chernobyl’s wild cousin.
@@PuffleFuzz better looking too I bet
Another one in Ashburton, Devon.