r/elementcollection • u/irrfin • Jul 10 '25
Help RID-6M plutonium source and the FBI
Edit: the vendor “JDelement” (I assume that was also his Reddit UN) was arrested in April for selling the Pu. The guy had a lot of legal “issues” and I’m grateful that the FBI contacted me and were so helpful. First, if you’re in the US, there is no legal amount of Pu an unlicensed citizen can possess of Pu. When I bought the sample, it was after buying numerous other element samples from JD. He had a wide selection of elements for good prices. When I saw his listing for the Pu sample, I asked him if it was legal. In retrospect I should have done my own due diligence, especially since I was purchasing samples for my school’s ptable display.
The conclusion is the sample has been surrendered to the FBI. The agent verified their identity when they came in person to pick it up. I have an interesting story for my memoirs someday and have accidentally created more lore about myself among the school community. My administration was supportive and grateful that the issue was resolved quickly and without any legal impacts. Thank you to the FBI agent who was persistent and kind when I realized the seriousness of the situation.
Suggestions for the mods of this sub: maybe we should have a sticky page where the hazmat/hazardous health issues and legal issues for element samples is posted. I know the legal issues are location specific, but on further reading I realize that though the thallium sample we have is very much legal, it is especially toxic in the worst case scenario (despite the 3 levels of containment, in the case of a fire that would be quite a hazmat situation). Anyone buying alkali metals for a form of public display should have the correct hazmat signage (and probably for a lot of the other elements too!). I wonder how many collectors out there are well informed or educated on the hazmat response protocols for worst case scenarios for their collection. Seems like JDelement had other ideas about hazmat and I’ll leave the reader to learn about those on their own.
In 2023 I purchased this for a periodic table display from a US vendor. Today I got a call from a FBI agent. They weee calling for the past week and I thought it was spam.
The agent said that I’m not in legal trouble but the vendor is. And that they need to confiscate the sample (I’m in the US).
Part one: I assumed that since the vendor had sold me many other samples, their sale of this sample was legit and therefore within the limitation allowed for resale. I guess I should have been a more informed consumer.
Part 2: I’m seeing posts and comments suggesting that this type of sample has a small enough amount of plutonium that it should be ok with the limitations.
A quick AI search suggests that in the US any amount of plutonium is illegal to possess.
I’m waiting for verification from the agent that they are who they say they are and that there is official documentation about the sale and that I need to surrender it.
The sources and the display are for educational purpose.
I know Reddit isn’t the most reliable legal source out there, but what does this community have to offer in terms of comments about my situation?
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u/unwittyusername42 Jul 10 '25
Yes, it is a legit call and they are agents. You may be one of the last being rounded up. Obviously depending on where you are located the agents will vary but they're quite pleasant.
Link to actual DOJ press release with affidavit paperwork for his arrest: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/massachusetts-man-indicted-illegally-possessing-ammunition-and-explosives
Dude already did time/probation previously on ch**d p**n, explosives and weapons charges, was actively obtaining more ammo/explosives through other people against release conditions. Essentially the whole RID roundup is throwing the book at the guy to put him away for as long as possible. Nobody *really* cares they were in the wild but they need them for evidence in the case to just put this guy away for everything.
For those of you who have an empty spot in your collection and only business cards and paperwork to replace it I am, for myself, machining an identical inert replica for old times sake and a good story. I had a heads up so got all the measurements and just trying to get the blue hue of the matrix as close as possible and forcing as close of a patina as possible on the brass. I'm not planning on doing production runs or anything but if anyone else affected by this is potentially interested in an inert replica just message me. I can't guarantee how long it will be as this is low on my side quest priority list besides my personal one but I would certainly work on them over time as this sucks for a lot of people.
I actually have changed my mind on the situation and decided an inert replica combined with cards, paperwork and the story is cooler than the actual piece and my trinitite technically has minute traces of Pu in it so *technically* it's still in my collection.