Have you ever wondered what is stored in your closets, atresols and pantries? By personal experience I know that many things lie there for years on the principle of “maybe they will come in handy,” and often even the owner of the apartment has a rather vague idea of what lies in the depths of the shelves. Meanwhile, there may be things very dangerous to health, the dangers of which their owners simply do not know.
On my blog I often write about traveling to radioactive places like Chernobyl or Pripyat. Such trips are relatively safe if radiation safety rules are observed. It is much more dangerous when radiation is closer than you think and you are unaware of its existence. I personally know a person who accidentally found one of the things I’m going to talk about today on the mezzanine of his home. What are these things? Why can they be more dangerous than a trip to the Chernobyl Zone? Let's get a look.
In this post we will talk about those things that contain radioactive substances that significantly exceed the safe norm - they can often be found in everyday life in the form of seemingly safe “souvenirs” and things left “as a memory.” First of all, this applies to various old measuring instruments (watches, pressure meters, etc.), the scales of which can glow in the dark. Until about the end of the sixties, such devices often used the so-called. “permanent light mass” (abbreviated as SPD), which contained radioactive substances - most often it was radium-226.
02. Here, for example, is a radioactive sextant. “Shines” approximately 2500 microroentgens per hour, which is more than 100 times higher than normal. The biggest danger of such a thing is not even the level of radiation (it is safe already at a distance of about 1 meter), but rather the fact that the scales with SPD are not protected in any way - which means that radium can be shaken out of the scale and contaminate surrounding objects.
03. Radioactive diving watch. Perhaps one of the most powerfully “luminous” things is that individual specimens can produce a beta/gamma background of up to 10,000 micro-Rentens per hour. Pay attention to the color of SPD - it has shades from yellowish to light brown. If the scales are exactly this color, then most likely it is radium, and not the safe phosphorus used in later models.
04. However, it is impossible to say with one hundred percent certainty about the color of the scale. I came across specimens with a white-greenish scale, very similar to phosphorus, but at the same time phoning. The best check is measurement with a dosimeter.
05. If it is not possible to check the watch with a dosimeter, then you can use this method - safe phosphorus reacts to “charging” with light, glows for some time in the dark, and then dims. Radioactive SPD does not react in any way to photons and either glows with a constant dim light, or does not glow at all due to old age.
06. Not only diving equipment, but also ordinary household items can be radioactive wrist watch. Here's an example of a typical SPD watch - the hands and numbers have yellow radium SPD on them, which is a hazard.
07. Here's another good example. I don’t know the measurement results of these watches, but judging by the amount of luminous mass, they should “shine” very well.
08. Not only watches, but also everything else that has “dials” can be radioactive. A similar compass with SPD (as in the photo below) was once kept in my home. And very often old aviation instruments “shine” - if you have something similar at home, be sure to check the thing with a dosimeter.
09. What else could be dangerous? Various “military souvenirs” like sights - without scales, but with luminous parts. Of course, it could be phosphorus, but it could also be radium. A sight with SPD looks like this:
10. Old smoke detectors can pose a radiation hazard - they do not have luminous scales, but contain radioactive substances (thorium, in my opinion). At a distance of 1-2 meters, such a smoke detector is completely safe, but in any case there is no need to store it at home, and certainly under no circumstances should it be broken - there is a danger of contaminating the room with radioactive substances.
11. Here's another radioactive object - an old icing sensor containing a powerful source of strontium-90. Such a sensor can be found in factories, repair shops, and even on the roof of your house. It's better to stay away from this kind of thing.
12. Radioactive toggle switches. This is an inconspicuous “switch” that can be found in household boxes with nuts, screws and other metal rubbish. The point on top of the toggle switch contains SPD - it is especially dangerous if the glass protecting the phosphor is cracked or broken - a couple of such toggle switches can be stained with radium in a very large area.
13. Toggle switches with SPD installed in the device:
The worst thing about all this is that particles of radium can enter the body and remain there - even with a small level of radiation, such a particle can “make a mess” in a few years. Still very important point- SPD based on radium salts has another danger - radon released into the atmosphere. This is a very dangerous gas for health, which also has the ability to leak even through rubber seals- so no amount of screen glass can protect you from it.
14. Radioactive lamps of the DKShS-3000 type - a xenon arc lamp, one of the electrodes of which is radioactive. The thing is relatively safe, but better at home Don't store this one.
15. Radioactive control sources from radiation measuring instruments. For example, such a source from the DP-2 radiometer “shines” very strongly in beta - to such an extent that when working with it it is advisable to use glasses to protect your eyes. Of course, it is highly unlikely that anyone would have such a thing at home, but you never know...
16. Some old camera lenses (mostly German and Japanese made) are also radioactive. This yellowish glass on the lens below contains a large content of radioactive thorium. Such optics were made until approximately the mid-seventies, after which radioactive thorium was replaced by non-radioactive substances. Takumar from the photo below is phonit in beta+gamma at approximately 3000 micro-Renten per hour.
At the same time, unlike all of the above, a lens with thorium glass is relatively safe - it does not emit radon, but it is still better not to use such things.
If you find any of the above on the mezzanines and cabinets at home, under no circumstances should you throw them away. You need to call the Ministry of Emergency Situations and hand over these things, they will dispose of them there. In general, take care of yourself and your loved ones :)
Each apartment can easily have 2-3 sources of radiation. This is especially true for old housing, where “family values” are stored on mezzanines or in closets - various rubbish accumulated by more than one generation, which is a pity to throw away. For example, those who quietly and peacefully “failed” for 15 years.
What could be a source of radiation in your apartment?
Same watch Soviet times - from ships, planes, tanks... Many people love such chips. After all, the problem with the Bobruisk woman’s watch is not at all that it was from a submarine that accumulated radiation from a nuclear reactor. The fact is that in Soviet times, in such watches and other devices (for example, in a sextant), constant light mass (SPD) based on radium-226 salts was used. The hands and divisions of the clock glowed beautifully in the dark, and the instruments themselves emitted (and are emitting) radiation.
The same applies to “specialized” wristwatches with luminous dials and hands produced before the 60s of the last century. They are also coated with radioactive phosphorus. The more a watch glows, the more radioactive it is. At the beginning of the twentieth century, this was a kind of standard. And 100% of the watches intended for the military were luminous and radioactive.
Later, the radioactive solution began to be coated with varnish, which inhibited alpha radiation. Even later, the solution with radium-226 was replaced with safe phosphorus compounds.
If you don't put them under your pillow at night, they won't cause much danger. However, if you suddenly try to repair such devices yourself or simply remove the glass, you may well smear your hands and clothes with radium and decay products. There is little good in this.
Radioactive SPD was also used in compasses, souvenirs, fishingaccessories and even toys.
Radioactivedishes. We are talking about glassware that was painted pale green by adding uranium dioxide (other colors are possible: from transparent yellow to blue). The radiation from such dishes is about 100 μR/h. Radioactive substances are bound by glass, which significantly reduces the risk of their spread into environment. In addition to dishes, buttons were made from it.
Modern uranium glass is produced from depleted uranium, which significantly reduces its danger. How to define it? It glows well in ultraviolet light.
Toggle switchesPPN-45 . Almost everyone has these metal switches with a white ball at the end. They can also be seen on the dashboards of old trolleybuses, in diesel locomotives and many, many other places. There are no restrictions.
However, enthusiasts who do not let go of dosimeters even at night found out that the toggle switches that were produced before 1964 also used constant light mass with the addition of radium-226. First of all, this concerned toggle switches produced as part of military orders. The SPD is located precisely in that white ball on the lever: if the dosimeter is brought within a centimeter of distance to the toggle switch, then it “fonits” mercilessly. At a distance of several tens of centimeters, the radiation level is already normal. By the way, later models of toggle switches are somewhat friendlier and do not contain radioactive substances.
Radioisotopefirefighterdetector. The operating principle of a radioisotope detector is based on the ionization of the air in the chamber when it is irradiated with a radioactive substance. In Soviet radioisotope detectors (RID-1, KI), the source of ionization was the radioactive isotope of plutonium-239. They were included in the first group of potential radiation hazards and posed a serious danger when plates with radionuclides deposited on them were destroyed.
The current ones are not so dangerous: radiation from radioactive nickel is absorbed inside the detector. But if it is broken, certain problems may arise. Lethal dose Of course, you won’t get any radiation, but you won’t need even a little radiation.
There are also a significant number of military or paramilitary items in which radioactive elements were used during Soviet times. These may be some models sensorsicing(type RIO-3), which contain strontium-90, or old, rare artillerysights.
In some old photographic lenses the glass was clarified using radioactive elements. They also give an increased background.
Radiation doses
0.22 µSv/hour – normal background radiation;
1.00 µSv/hour – exposure received by the crew of an aircraft flying from Tokyo to New York via the North Pole;
2.28 µSv/hour – average permissible level of exposure for nuclear industry workers;
570.77 μSv, single dose - half of the people who received such a dose of radiation die within a month.
Humanity is ready to see danger in any object, this is how our consciousness works. The real or potential harm of GMOs, palm oil, brilliant greens, salt and aspirin is always a hot topic for discussion, like the weather and pets. Wristwatches do not stand aside either. We have already published a selection of reasons why watches should not be given as a gift (supposedly not), but this time it’s time for “dangerous” materials and characteristics that can (or cannot) be found in watches.
Men's Swiss titanium wristwatch Luminox F-22 Raptor 9240 Series XA.9247 with chronograph
Backlight
Until a certain point, in order to see the time in the dark, you had to shine a flashlight on the watch. An action that was harmless in peacetime became dangerous during the First World War - this was the impetus for the creation of men's watches with backlight. Until the 1960s, radium was added to the paint used to cover watch elements, but later the composition was changed to safe, and the use of radium was banned. Today, the substance can only be found in antique watches that have been inherited.
Men's Swiss wristwatch Luminox Dress Field 1830 Series XL.1831
Tritium- a gas that these days some brands called trigalight use as an almost eternal backlight that does not require movement, batteries or sunlight. It's a radioactive element, which in itself is a pretty scary concept.
During its half-life, it emits electrons that strike the inner wall of a sealed tube coated with a phosphor substance. This creates a glow that does not stop for decades. But the gas tubes are sealed and contain an extremely small amount of tritium. When intact, such flasks do not affect background radiation in any way, and even if they are broken, they will not have an effect on the human body.
Men's Swiss mechanical wristwatch BALL Moon Phase NM3082D-LLFJ-SL
In addition, paints that “charge” in light are widespread, and different brands have their own names: Luminova, Super-LumiNova, Lumibrite, Neobrite. They charge and gradually go out after a while. They are based on phosphorus and other similar elements that are absolutely safe for humans in such quantities and combinations.
Material and coatings of the case and bracelets
The materials and coatings on the case and bracelet of some watches may contain nickel. In the composition of the metal, the percentage of the substance is extremely low, but, for example, in a coating that has two layers - nickel and decorative coating - there is much more of it. Nickel, which over time begins to bleed through gold, chromium or titanium nitride, can in some cases cause itching, allergic reactions and even burns.
Fortunately, now it is practically not used, except in cheap fakes, and this is another argument to buy only high-quality original watches from reliable brands. By the way, in Europe the sale of watches containing nickel is prohibited.
Men's Swiss mechanical wristwatch BALL Genesis NM2028C-S7J-BE
Glass
A hypothetical possible danger is the small fragments that could form if the watch breaks. If the conditions of use of the watch suggest this option (it can happen, say, in a dangerous workplace or in extreme conditions of racing or working on a drilling rig), choose models with thick, preferably mineral or plastic glasses.
In principle, it is very difficult to break minerals, and plexiglass will break into pieces. Sapphire crystal can shatter into small pieces and even dust, which can cause harm to both the person and the mechanism. However, given that this is the most expensive glass, one can assume that the owner of such a watch will try to take care of it and prevent mechanical damage.
Men's Swiss titanium wristwatch Victorinox I.N.O.X. Titanium 241778
Strap
When actively wearing a watch on a leather strap, for example during intense sports activities, dust and sweat will accumulate more intensely on the inner surface. Natural material, unlike artificial analogues, has a more porous structure, so it absorbs moisture like a sponge - thus creating a favorable environment for the growth of bacteria. On sensitive skin, this can cause irritation and, over time, allergies. However, it is worth noting that to do this you must sweat constantly and know absolutely nothing about caring for the strap.
Products made from genuine leather should be cleaned with a soft cloth and washed with warm soapy water, and then dried in the shade in the open air at room temperature. So the belt, firstly, will last longer, and secondly, it will not cause discomfort. If you don’t have the time and energy to care for it, many watch models can be fitted with fabric NATO straps, hypoallergenic titanium bracelets, absolutely safe stainless steel or high-tech plastic.
