Handling radium; lessons from mineral collectors

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Every now and then I look at the two radium watches I have and think to myself "am I screwing myself over?" Then, my inner Gollum surfaces and I push those nasty thoughts away.

Anyway, in the past we've had discussions around handling radium watches but the information was always a little scattered. I always thought it'd be nicer if there was a sensible, curated place with those posts and saw today that mineral collectors often deal with the same problem.

Welllll, that led me to this Atlas Obscura article: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/radioactive-mineral-rock-collectors-guide

Which specifically cites this PDF that someone put together about how radiation works, how to handle / store radioactive rocks properly, and more -- https://www.academia.edu/31501150/H...ding_of_Radioactive_Mineral_Species_Feb_2017_

It's pretty nice and thorough, and in my experience, knowing about it can make the boogeyman seem not as scary.

It's a free PDF but you need an account on academia.edu to download it, or just dm me and I'll email it to you.

Hope it helps you find comfort in your poisonous, radioactive homes. 馃榾

P.S. Here is a good excerpt:

Your level of paranoia is important. To be excessively cavalier is to invite an accident. On the other hand, excessive paranoia will paralyse your ability to make rational safety decisions. If your fear outweighs your rational decision-making capability, then you should simply part with any idea of collecting radioactive minerals
Edited:
 
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Not sure what's more disturbing, finding radioactive waste near a school or this..,

"...findings from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which first detected radioactive contaminants near the school in 2018 and again in 2019, 2020 and 2021, the report said."

Fifth times the charm.
 
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Reassuring that they鈥檙e consulting attorneys as to their next steps