On average, it finds, only 50-70% of initial uranium resource estimates can be extracted.
Wyoming has substantial uranium deposits, estimated to account for one-third of the total reserves in the United States.
Based on these simulations, the sensitivity of the detector to known amounts of plutonium and uranium was estimated.
One reason the group believes the uranium-thorium estimates to be more accurate than carbon dating is that they produce better matches between known changes in the Earth's orbit and changes in global glaciation.
An additional 4.6 billion tonnes of uranium are estimated to be in sea water (Japanese scientists in the 1980s showed that extraction of uranium from sea water using ion exchangers was technically feasible).
In the uranium treatment, estimated population size reached 9000 and 6000 individuals for generations 1 and 4, respectively.
When cumulative intake of uranium was estimated, null or nonsignificant associations with the studied biomarkers were found (Kurttio et al. 2002, 2006a; Mao et al. 1995).
Dependent on age and body weight, the daily intake of uranium was estimated to be between 10.8 at the beginning of experiment and 3.6 mg/kg body weight per day 9 months later (mean: 5.4 mg/kg/d) for the highest level (120 mg/L).
If the price rose to $100 per pound, Wyoming would have roughly $40 billion worth of uranium reserves, according estimates by the federal government.
Uranium (238U) is estimated through the radon daughter 214Bi in its decay chain, while thorium (232Th) is estimated through 208Tl in its decay chain.
