Salvagers are stripping sunken World War 2 ships that are officially war graves, which is despicable, but depressingly not surprising. But the following paragraph grabbed my attention:
"Archeologists believe the criminals might be turning a profit because the hulls are one of the world’s few remaining deposits of “low-background” metals. Having been made before atomic bomb explosions in 1945 and subsequent nuclear tests, the steel is free of radiation. This makes even small quantities that have survived the saltwater extremely useful for finely calibrated instruments such as Geiger counters, space sensors and medical imaging."
(Sorry, have not worked out how to copy and paste 2 things at once. But if you google "worlds biggest grave robbery the guardian" you will find the article this references.)
"Archeologists believe the criminals might be turning a profit because the hulls are one of the world’s few remaining deposits of “low-background” metals. Having been made before atomic bomb explosions in 1945 and subsequent nuclear tests, the steel is free of radiation. This makes even small quantities that have survived the saltwater extremely useful for finely calibrated instruments such as Geiger counters, space sensors and medical imaging."
(Sorry, have not worked out how to copy and paste 2 things at once. But if you google "worlds biggest grave robbery the guardian" you will find the article this references.)