Uses of Radioactive Materials 1950 and 60s

This is clipped from the early 1960s film, Everyday Radioactivity, produced by Mr. Wizard, Don Herbert, showman-science teacher famous for his Watch Mr. Wizard programs, which ran on NBC from 1951 to 1965. ) . A wonderful resource for a look at the history of radiation is the Health Physics Museum at http://www.orau.org/ptp/museumdirectory.htm . The museum is operated by the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, offers a wide range of technical and regulatory information. The museum has a very large inventory of instruments and radiation related items, including descriptions and photographs, that date back to the Manhattan Project. However, it also offers an extensive Health Physics Resources page with information and links to answer the full range of radiation related questions. Another good source of information on radiation is the website (and downloadable book) Radiation, People and the Environment (http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/RadPeopleEnv/intro.html ) provides a comprehensive look at ionizing radiation. Produced by the IAEA in close co-operation with the UK National Radiological Protection Board, this provides a broad overview on the subject of ionizing radiation, its effects and uses, as well as the measures in place to ensure it can be used safely. The entire film, Everyday Radioactivity, is available at the Internet Archives.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• radioactive
• materials
• hazwoper
• OSHA
• EPA
• industrial
• hygiene
• fiestaware
• radium
• paint
• lantern
• mantle

[rhblakeman]

Wanna bet a lot of these things are present in the cheap crap that China is sending into our country? We already know they are painting toys with high level leaded paints yet US plants would be shut down n the first instance of lead in paint. Lead in dinnerware is out but they are finding lead in the glazes of Chinese imported dinnerware and cups. So whose to say those pretty red items on the shelves at Walmart imported from our friendly communists arent loaded with uranium? Makes you wonder.

[KarbineKyle]

@Renew3D: It could be Zinc Sulfide (Activated). It is used with Radium-226. The alpha particles from certain isotopes will give of blue scintillations with Activated Zinc Sulfide. The only way to find out is by using a Geiger-Muller Counter. I have also known that Actinium-227 metal will glow a faint bluish color in the dark. If you have Actinium, I would be quite surprised! Ac-227 is the most stable. It has a half-life of about 21.7 years, and is extremely radioactive.

[cyclenut]

When I was little back in the 60's I had toys that glowed a yellowish color all night long.. or in a dark closet. Same for most wind up clocks..I really like those clocks... I also loved my toys guarding me all night long.. I did have them across the room because they were to bright and would keep me up if they were closer.

I also built models that glowed. My brother was bald by his late 20's

Then too, we lived near fields that were crop dusted... I have never had head lice... DDT

[zenoist2]

Depleted uranium can be used in tank guns to kill Iraqis and afghanistinanis.

And was and is.

If this is known to linger for years and be toxic and cause death why the hell are the USA using it?

Why are their troops sitting right next to it in tanks?

[vmelkon]

@rhblakeman It depends on the substance. If it is something that would vaporize, then the foundry would be contaminated. The bigger risk is to the people who open up the medical equipment. They tend to receive a fatal dose and will have poor health for the rest of their shortened existence.

[rhblakeman]

@vmelkon Some of those things don't play well when they hit white hot molten steel in a smelting plant either.

[vmelkon]

@rhblakeman It has happened that some metal table legs and some wrist watch that came from China was radioactive. A person who works at some nuclear plant in the US set off an alarm when he walked in with his wrist watch. It turns out some dumbo in China recycled the Cobalt 60 from a medical device and threw it with the rest of the steel into the foundry. That sort of thing has happened in other countries as well.

[rhblakeman]

@zederish Right...shows you are in the United States so are you one of the facilitators in the US that they ship the Chinese crap to so you can sell on eBay as a US seller? Let me clue you in on something - most things WERE made in the US until a communist country by the name of the People's Republic of China (shortened to "China" to remove the communist stigma) opened up to make cheap copies that allowed resellers to make 1000% markups.

[zederish]

@rhblakeman you lazy americans better make things you want and if you buy it from some one just say thank you and shut your filthy mouth

[IrradiatedGamer]

@morbidangelofdeath1 It's mostly alpha for the plates i know because i have plates just like that in my collection

[morbidangelofdeath1]

it's proabably alpha and beta,which is safe considered camparing it to gamma.

[stdavross666]

@Renew3D the chemical in the plastic stars is zinc sulfide and is harmless...you could eat it. radium hasn't been used/banned for a long time