Back in 1980-1984 or so (I was 10) my father worked in x-ray & brought home truckloads of film to extract the silver from. What I actually remember about the process is how much that stuff burned in a cut and the little machine that collected the muddy looking stuff. Thirty-eight years later, while visiting my mom (where the refining took place) I discovered that on the side of the house remain two 55-gallon blue barrels containing the left-over fixer dad had extracted the silver from. Hard to imagine it's been there that long, WOW! So I carefully removed the cap off the barrel that was only about half full and shined a flashlight in it. What I found is a thick gray sludge about a foot deep. I imagine the completely full barrel has to contain at least twice that. I tried to siphon some out but it seems to dissolve if jostled at all.
I can't imagine that my father could have missed that much silver and am quite curious what the sludge is composed of. Preferably before I find an appropriate method for disposing of these two barrels. Just in case Dad did miss some.
Any suggestions on where I might begin researching would be appreciated!
Thank you,
Tricia.
I can't imagine that my father could have missed that much silver and am quite curious what the sludge is composed of. Preferably before I find an appropriate method for disposing of these two barrels. Just in case Dad did miss some.
Any suggestions on where I might begin researching would be appreciated!
Thank you,
Tricia.