So I recently bought a vintage Omega seamaster from 1960. I just found out that it has radium dots and hands. They are in pretty good condition and not chipped..yet.

I know the conventional knowledge is that it's safe unless you are opening the case and breathing in the dust... But there has been a new study that say radium watches can still be a health hazard under normal circumstances: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/new-report-shows-radium-dials-might-pose-serious-danger

Also, if you think about it, the radium paint will continue to degrade over the next decades of me owning it. Sure, they are in decent condition now but who knows how they will continue to age in the next 20 years.

What if they get damaged and the radium lume starts chipping? The watch case isn't air-tight so the dust might escape.

Another problem for me is that I am a university student who lives in a small room. I can't store the watch in the basement or somewhere that's well-ventilated. I can only store it in my drawer beside my desk.

All this got me worried about the potential health hazard of owning this lovely vintage watch...Although the risk might be incredibly tiny, I feel like the experience of wearing and owning this watch will forever be tarnished by knowing that I'm wearing something that's a potential health hazard. Also, I was planning on wearing this watch daily... Is this something that I wanna do with a radium watch? I'm not sure...

Do you guys think I should return the watch?

 

For a small fee, we will dispose of it correctly. Just pay postage to Australia and we have plenty of space for dangerous things.......will send you a picture of the hole in the ground, where the last resting place is. Kind regards. Achim

 

That new study as you call it isn’t all that new and has been discussed on here at length already. Hodinkee aren’t all that reliable a news source either. Search on radium here and you’ll find plenty to either alarm or reassure you. I am guessing you aren’t a science student? Those that have studied radioactivity (like myself) are more relaxed about owning watches like you describe than many. Knowledge is power.

 

Valid question, the issues are radioactive particles emitted from the radium on the dial/hands and also radioactive radon gas in an enclosed space. I don't know the answers but the Northampton study was 30 watches and what I'd like to know whether the radon gas emitted by 1 or 2 watches, if stored for a long period in a small enclosed space like a safe deposit box, will reach a concentration that's a health risk when you open the box. Take a look at this tread : https://omegaforums.net/threads/radium-geiger-counter-measurements.82149/

 

I wear my Rancheros without any worries.
Since it looks like radium lume concerns you and you don't feel comfortable about being around the watch, I would sell it or return it.
If there is no joy in the watch, get rid of it.

 

No. Not in real life. The OP has One watch with Mickey mouse dots and small slots in the hands. Safe to wear. Unless you are an obsessive collector of WW 2 pilots/divers watches and have 40 in one box, you might not want to open the box and be 5 cm's from the lid. Again: not in real life. Enjoy. Kind regards. Achim

 

And not too much bacon...

 

I had the same worries as you when I found out about about radium lume, this reduced dramatically my desire for pre 60s lumed watches. The first thing I did was to buy a Geiger meter to check how much radiation is actually emitted. I have 1959 Seamaster inherited from my grandfather with radium dots on the hour markers and I saw that the meter can detect radiation only on the crystal side and in a distance of less than 10cm.

 

Is this you?

 

I am not concerned (and the thread linked above by @queriver is worth a read) but if it is a source of preoccupation sell the watch and replace it with a later one. After all, this is just a hobby and where is the enjoyment in something that is making you unsettled?

 

It’s in rocks, soil and groundwater

https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/7000018/report.pdf

Not going to stop me going camping in Kakadu

I live a few hundred KMs from one of the richest uranium ore bodies discovered in the world (That was discover by a research plane it was such a anomaly)

At time of discovery the aircraft was flying at an altitude of 100 meters. The anomaly could still be detected at almost 3000 feet. The Aircraft was a Britten Norman Islander Registration VH-FLE. The crew members on board were Bill Hay, the pilot, Harvey Morton, the navigator and Frank Lanza, the instruments operator that actually first recognized the significance of the anomaly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_Uranium_Mine

 

You could also have the radium removed and replaced by a look alike non radioactive lume.

 

@afaw34 photo please.

 

If you’re concerned about radon gas from opening watches in an enclosed area, hold your breath, open the box, leave the room for a while. You should be fine.

 

Hmm, so when you open your box in a bank safe deposit facility and quickly walk away while turning purple from holding your breath: (1) those with an inclination to steal will grab your stuff from your unattended open box and put it in theirs, (2) the "concerned citizens" will think you're a terrorist who's just planted a bomb, scream, run away with their boxes still open and call the cops from their cell phones, and (3) the staff will think you're totally mad and also probably call the cops. Sorry, can't see a happy ending here.

 

Radon, as I understand it, dissipates readily in the ambient air. So just don’t put you face right over the box when you open it, and breathe in deeply like you’re taking a hit off of a joint. Momentarily hold your breath, open the box, take a step back and consult your cell phone to make the anti-terrorists less suspicious, laugh a couple of times for added effect, put your phone in your pocket, return to the box, and you will be fine. And with no police record to follow...

 

Radon is much heavier than air. If it really worries you and you keep your watches in a hermetically sealed box do the following. Open box, support contents, tip up box to pour out accumulated Radon. Job done.

Pull yourselves together people

 

Used to work at a jewellery store and my boss had a old Tudor Prince from the 50's a customer had left behind nearly a decade before. He kept it at his house for a while and then brought it in to show me. Radium dial was completely shagged out, and to my shock, no crystal installed. I jumped out of my seat when he dropped the watch on the table, he had no clue what the big deal was. Once I told him the dangers he quickly sealed it up in a bunch of ziplock bags and stashed it in a box.

Not sure what acute radon poisoning looks like but he seemed fine

 

Maybe I'll leave mine out in the open and get one of these for security...

 

Radium decays into lead, and lead blocks radium, so give it a few weeks for this process to happen in your WatchBox and all will be fine.

And hey, has anyone taken a Geiger counter into a bank vault to see how many watches are being stored there?