Ownership of Radioactive Materials.

xtrme981

Hello everyone,

I have a tricky question. I want to import a clock that has been painted with radioactive paint that makes it glow in the dark. This will be used for testing purposes. I am unsure if I am legally allowed to import and own such an item in Ireland, so if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to say them.

Thanks in advance,
Filip.

Labarbapostiza

xtrme981 wrote: »

Hello everyone,

I have a tricky question. I want to import a clock that has been painted with radioactive paint that makes it glow in the dark. This will be used for testing purposes. I am unsure if I am legally allowed to import and own such an item in Ireland, so if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to say them.

Thanks in advance,
Filip.

You might be better asking the question on the legal forum.

I doubt customs could tell the difference between glow in the dark radium, and phosphorescent glow in the dark (which isn't radioactive). I would say there are glow in the dark virgin Marys, and old clocks from the period before luminescent plastics are all over the country.

It's generally harmless. But if you notified the authorities they may go over the top and you have a hazchem issue. If you tell no one, you don't.


Still, I would be careful handling it. The radium paints were used before anyone had any real idea of how dangerous radioactive materials can be. The paints used on WWII bomber instrument dials, had enough material to make your clothing hazardous just after a little contact.


Who's going to know?

And ask yourself; which is more important; scientific progress or a minor public safety issue. Don't let the fools stop you.

xtrme981

Thanks for the help. I am aware of how to properly manage such a device, the only bit I am unsure about was the legal aspect of the clock. Again thanks for the advice.

Gru

Would it be worth contacting these guys and getting an opinion? They may be able to tell you if what you're importing requires any licence or approval.

http://www.epa.ie/radiation/#.VDELG_ldX4t

Peemaccee

I am sure legally its alright to have an old radon watch or clock.
The problem with the radon paint was with the people who applied it,
not the wearer of the watch.

Its the ingestion of the radon that is the issue. If you plan remove any of the paint
then don't. The RPII I'm sure will readily inform you of the issues if you contact them.


Interestingly on import I wonder if it will undergo a radiation check.

Labarbapostiza

Peemaccee wrote: »

I am sure legally its alright to have an old radon watch or clock.
The problem with the radon paint was with the people who applied it,
not the wearer of the watch.

A lot of this stuff exists from a time when there was no regulations on it. After Curie's discovery, the stuff was being used for everything, even krank elexir's that killed thousands of people. It's really only at the point Enric Fermi died, as a result of cavalier laboratory practices during the Manhattan project, that it was fully realised how bad the stuff can be. People were not aware it could damage your DNA....as DNA had yet to be discovered.

How much material was used in making different things. David Hahn, the American who got in trouble trying to build a nuclear reactor in his back garden when he was a teenager - he used to collect as much radioactive things as he could. He would travel with a Geiger counter on the dash board of his car. If he was coming near a shop that had some antique radioactive material, he said the counter would begin to click above background. That's his story anyway, if it's true, God knows how much stuff they used on it.

Carawaystick

You could ask Fyffes

Labarbapostiza

Carawaystick wrote: »

You could ask Fyffes

The law in America is that all alcoholic beverages must be radioactive. This to stop people from using alcohol which is a byproduct of petroleum. Carbon 14 is produce by cosmic rays hitting earth's atmosphere, it's in all food. Oil is in the ground so long the carbon 14 has all decayed.