Radiation exposure
03-02-2018, 01:24 PM
#1
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Radiation exposure
Not really sure where this should go but I was wondering about old flight instruments that used a radium based paint to help those old instruments glow in the dark. Clearly anyone can get one from say ebay in almost any price range. Just how serious is it to actually own one of those concerning exposure to radioactive decay. What if it's broken or taken apart? Or were these instruments required at one point to be decontaminated after the signs of possible health risks?
03-02-2018, 02:45 PM
#2
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Originally Posted by 100LL
Not really sure where this should go but I was wondering about old flight instruments that used a radium based paint to help those old instruments glow in the dark. Clearly anyone can get one from say ebay in almost any price range. Just how serious is it to actually own one of those concerning exposure to radioactive decay. What if it's broken or taken apart? Or were these instruments required at one point to be decontaminated after the signs of possible health risks?
Unless you plan to remove the paint and eat it, the health risks are nonexistent. If you do plan to remove the paint and eat it, the health risks are negligible.
I don't recommend eating the aircraft instruments.
03-02-2018, 03:19 PM
#3
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You're fine in a flight deck. Just don't work in the factory that produces them -- at least if you're living in the 1920's.
https://www.npr.org/2014/12/28/37351...ls-dies-at-107
https://www.npr.org/2014/12/28/37351...ls-dies-at-107
03-02-2018, 05:18 PM
#4
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Originally Posted by JohnBurke
You understand that "radioactive decay" means that the radioactivity diminishes, right?
If the paint deteriorates (if the inherent chemistry doesn't do that, the radiation likely will), the dust could be hazardous. Although the risk is probably pretty low compared to being a professional radium paint licker.
Tritium (commonly used today) has a much shorter half-life, about a decade.
03-02-2018, 05:49 PM
#5
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Originally Posted by rickair7777
Radium has a very long half-life relative to human life-spans... practically speaking any radium device will be just as radioactive as the day it was manufactured. I would be careful possessing or handling such antiques...
If the paint deteriorates (if the inherent chemistry doesn't do that, the radiation likely will), the dust could be hazardous. Although the risk is probably pretty low compared to being a professional radium paint licker.
Tritium (commonly used today) has a much shorter half-life, about a decade.
If the paint deteriorates (if the inherent chemistry doesn't do that, the radiation likely will), the dust could be hazardous. Although the risk is probably pretty low compared to being a professional radium paint licker.
Tritium (commonly used today) has a much shorter half-life, about a decade.
03-02-2018, 06:02 PM
#6
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Thanks for the info so it’s okay to have one on display but just don’t open up. But it’s very toxic if you do end up opening it or if the glass happens to break and you expose yourself even it was just once. Just wondering why such a device is allowed to be sold if it’s very harmful should something happen.
03-02-2018, 06:47 PM
#7
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Originally Posted by 100LL
Thanks for the info so it’s okay to have one on display but just don’t open up. But it’s very toxic if you do end up opening it or if the glass happens to break and you expose yourself even it was just once. Just wondering why such a device is allowed to be sold if it’s very harmful should something happen.
You do realize East Coast cities still have lead water pipes and asbestos insulation in many of their older buildings, right?
03-03-2018, 07:25 PM
#9
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Originally Posted by JohnBurke
Inside an aircraft instrument, it's just not an issue at all. None.
It's mostly alpha radiation, so correct that it won't emit out of a closed instrument, or penetrate skin (the problem is if the radium compound gets inside you).
Last edited by rickair7777; 03-03-2018 at 07:38 PM.
03-03-2018, 07:42 PM
#10
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Originally Posted by 100LL
But it’s very toxic if you do end up opening it or if the glass happens to break and you expose yourself even it was just once.
Ever seen turn of the century green glass? It's prized by collectors. It's also radioactive, and contains uranium. You might be surprised what's out there. Watches, glow in the dark alarm clocks, aircraft instruments, etc.
If the glass happens to break? Did you know that one of the means in venting the static system in many aircraft was breaking the glass on the VSI? It's not that big a deal. It really isn't.
You may have heard of the concept of making a mountain of a mole hill. Put the mole down carefully and back away. Nobody gets hurt. Especially the mole.
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