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Radium Girls

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#2
C C Offline
Looks almost like an American aftermath sequel to "Radioactive", except I see this was actually released the year before the latter.

So we beware of antique clocks and watches made right up into the '50s (still lingering in areas like the military during the '60s). Though I guess the amount of radium used in the paint was reduced by that time.
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#3
Secular Sanity Offline
(Jan 22, 2021 08:09 PM)C C Wrote: Looks almost like an American aftermath sequel to "Radioactive", except I see this was actually released the year before the latter.

So we beware of antique clocks and watches made right up into the '50s (still lingering in areas like the military during the '60s). Though I guess the amount of radium used in the paint was reduced by that time.

Yeah, they’re still radioactive, but people still collect and sell them. If inhaled or ingested there’s a risk of cancer or cell damage.

Ebay: Radium Watches For Sale

https://www.epa.gov/radtown/radioactivity-antiques

One study, though, indicated that they still had the potential to cause damage even without inhaling or ingesting the particles.

"Kingston University's Professor of Environmental Geoscience Gavin Gillmore and Dr Robin Crockett, from the University of Northampton, tested a collection of 30 antique, radium-dial watches which were found to collectively emit radon concentrations 134 times greater than the United Kingdom's recommended safe level when kept in a space the size of a typical box room.

In addition, three of the watches in poor condition each gave rise to individual concentrations of radon – when kept in the same poorly ventilated room – well in excess of the threshold where Public Health England would recommend remediation.

The levels recorded were high enough to be dangerous even in much larger spaces, such as whole houses, according to Professor Gillmore, an environmental hazards expert who is the University's Head of Energy. "These watches are often precious heirlooms with sentimental value, or highly prized collectors' items," he said. "To minimise the risk, I would recommend people not wear them – and if stored in a box, to not remove the lid indoors. Instead, it would be better to take the box outside and remove the lid there, which would allow any built-up gas to rapidly dissipate."

https://www.northampton.ac.uk/news/wwii-...ncer-risk/
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#4
C C Offline
(Jan 22, 2021 09:45 PM)Secular Sanity Wrote: [...] "These watches are often precious heirlooms with sentimental value, or highly prized collectors' items," he said. "To minimise the risk, I would recommend people not wear them – and if stored in a box, to not remove the lid indoors. Instead, it would be better to take the box outside and remove the lid there, which would allow any built-up gas to rapidly dissipate."

https://www.northampton.ac.uk/news/wwii-...ncer-risk/


Argh. I knew there was some stealthy menace lurking in homes that I couldn't quite wrestle through the mnemonic fog as resting in family heritage.
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