Hello everyone:
A great many things turn up as radioactive, from fossils to alarm clocks, and in many cases you can't tell by looking at it. The good news is most of the manuafactured items which turn up a "hot" are fairly tame in terms of the radiation they emit and the quantities of radioactive material they contain. Would you you want to be around them all day everyday? Certainly not! Exceptions do exist, but sensible handling drastically deminishes an already comparitively small danger. A my opinion the primary danger is ingestion, especially where radium paint(prone to flaking off) is involved. Radium is a potent aplha emitter (alpha particles can not penetrate skin, the glass face of a gauge, or most other barriers) and chemically similar to calcium. Once in the body radium tends to stick around in the bones and other areas of the body potentially causing all sorts of nasty health conditions.
The good news is sensible handling and storage measures, such as those Ron Twellman outlined go a long way.
_________________
Mark D. Hanson
Curator
Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum
1011 Pacesetter Drive
Rantoul, Illinois 61866-3672
217-893-1613 ◦ 217-892-5774 (fax)
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-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Susanne Lambert
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2005 1:56 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Radioactive Fiestaware
This was also the subject of a session at AAM Portland 2003, "Objects Too Hot to Handle".
Reports given there on collections containing radium dials...automotive and FiestaWare, and other objects.
The orange (original,not new) is especially radioactive and in fact, one panel spokeperson told that they calibrate their geigercounter with a small orange bowl !!
I will see if I can locate the speakers contact info and post it.
After this session, I returned home and gave away my prized 15" dim.
orange platter as well as isolated similar objects in our ceramics collection! I had been serving my family food on this platter for 20 years. Egads!
-Susanne
Susanne Lambert
Collections Manager/Registrar
Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art
t 435 797 0166
f 435 797 3423
e [log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Harvey
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2005 12:37 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: radium dials
I remember hearing at a session of the Objects Specialty Group of the American Institute for Conservation some years ago that certain types of Fiestaware and Art Glass contain low but measurable amounts of radiation as a uranium product was used in the manufacturing process.
I am on an out of town project this week but I will endeaver to track down the reference and post it when I return home to Los Angeles next week - maybe Noah has been able to land the Ark and let all the animals out to play!
(For those who haven't heard we have been having rains of nearly biblical proportions - now almost two years average accumulation since Jan, 1st.)
Cheers!
Dave
David Harvey
Conservator
Los Angeles, California
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