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Re: Radioactive
bergrob wrote:
> Hi list,
>
> Several years ago I bought a piece of Trinitite from Mr Kempton he reassured
> me that it was totally safe and absolutely not radioactive. Do I have a
> problem now? Is has my health and that of my family been at risc. I really
> worry about this.
>
> Robert Bergkotte
Hi Robert, hello List,
I hope the small contribution I made to this thread yesterday did not
lead to too much fear and anxiety among listees about those Trinitite
specimens available to collectors.
To state that a piece of Trinitite is "totally safe and absolutely not
radioactive" is a view that I would not not support, if it were made in
all this generality. But may be, Robert, that when Russ Kempton of the
NEMS, who we all know is a well-respected person, made this statement,
he had performed some test on the specimens before he sent it out to
you, or had it tested from the person or institution that owned it
before he got them.
As I said, as long as the counter readings on these specimens lead to
dose rate outputs of only slightly more than background radiation on
direct contact (referring to what Stuart Forbes contributed), there
surely is no danger at all. In fact there are quite a few places I know
of here in Europe, where the "normal" background from cosmic radiation
is significantly exceeded by radiation from earthly rock sources
deposited there, and despite this people there also will be able to live
long and healthy lives. But Greg Shanos´ piece seems to behave
different, as from his report to the list we learned that the radiation
is far in excess to the natural background that we all are inevitably
exposed to. It were only these sort of pieces that I was pondering over
when I said that you better avoid to e.g. wear them as jewelry, in
direct tissue contact. Even Greg´s piece, with the readings that he
reported to us, won´t be dangerous at all, if he treats it a bit
carefully, e.g. does not permanently carry it around in a pocket or so.
The inverse square law of distance, regarding radioactivity, tells us
there won´t be any danger if the piece is usually kept in a safe place,
may be somewhere in a showcase at the wall, or in a special small
container. This surely should not lead to the impression that it would
"contaminate" the whole place where one lives with radiation, dangerous
for all the inhabitants. So, there are good reasons to relax here.
It would be interesting to know how "the bulk" of Trinitates behave,
regarding radiation emission. There were only two cases discussed here.
Is there any more info around on this?
Alex
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