MOST EXTREME TOXIC radiation danger from antique compass - Radium exposure!!! 

That's a WW2 British compass.

The good thing about these is that the radium lume on these were coated over with a lacquer to prevent them from flaking or getting wet. They have to be. They're war instruments. They have to survive shock, scratches, and harsh climates. I'll be getting my second one soon! I collect radioactive sources! I've been doing it for years! It's a fascinating hobby!

One of the most obvious indicators that an antique dial (of any type) is painted with radium containing paint is that it WON'T glow in the dark anymore or will be VERY dim (req dark adapted eyes to see). That sounds backwards, but is caused over time by alpha particles damaging the crystal structure of the scintillating oxides that are also mixed in with the paint. Said another way, if you expose the paint to light and it DOES glow (brightly) - it's _probably_ NOT radium based. Also, do remember that the next element in the radium decay chain is RADON gas. It won't be much, but since radioactive damage to the body is cumulative - better safe than sorry: keep that sh*t in a TIGHTLY sealed container and NEVER *EVER* re-use that container for anything else. Radon gas tends to "plate out" or actually start to form on the inside of container surfaces an atomically thin layer of radioactive metal consisting of various isotopes of polonium, bismuth and lead. A collection of radioactive items is very cool to own, and can be SAFE to own as long as reasonable common sense is applied. I've got a couple of WW-II "deck marker" discs that are *packed* full of radium paint. They will easily peg every meter I've got with way over 100k CPM. Now THOSE things are a little scary! Take care.

Excellent video. Nice compass.

Cool! I have two of these now! The 2nd one is a little hotter, too. And in better shape. The Ra-226 lume is darker, so that's an indication that it has become more self-irradiated. Both of them _barely_ glow in the pitch dark now. With my Inspector USB Geiger-Müller counter, I get > 370,000 CPM at about 1 in. That's about as high as it will go before it overflows. It's the fold-back effect, but the Inspector USB has anti-saturation. The hottest Ra-226 source I have is a meter face from a Soviet ДП-63-А dosimeter (ca. 1964). As a bonus, it has a hot Sr-90 test source inside!

I have a GMC 300e plus too! measured a plastic WW2 compass and got a reading of 17,000 CPM

Nice piece

Hands down the most over extreme RU-vid title I've ever seen. opening that beta window throws our dose rate. keep the beta close and then take the reading for a more accurate body dosage

I've got one now! I get over 365,000 CPM with my Inspector USB Geiger-Müller counter. The dose is not accurate, since it's calibrated to Cs-137, but it's over 1 mSv/h. I'm still not worried! It's just a very hot compass, for what its Ra-226 concentration is.

I just measured 26000 CPM from my father,s Silva compass.1960,s I guess. There are 3 sources the needle,and then 2 others.One is on the bezel,the other is for alignment.Both of these sources are set into the surface with no protective layer.I

I have a wrist compass my grandfather had I just discovered was radium yesterday , and he wore it half his life. he got cancer , but because it runs in. our family. o think it's safe , isn't chipped , and I won't be taking the cap off or breathing the dust.

At least you never have to worry about it not glowing after ten years like tritium

I just found one of these compasses in a box in my loft having been given it as a kid 30 years ago………..after watching this I think I’ll be putting it back upinto the loft 😮

I wouldn't remove that paint. Radium is as good as gold! That will decrease its value! Just keep it in a sealed container, like an acrylic box. If you want, just put epoxy over the radium-doped paint. Nice demonstration! It's a pretty spicy compass, but externally, it's not much to fear. Nice ASP-1! I just got an Eberline RM-20 with the HP-260 pancake probe. It's not that portable, but it works great! I have radium sources that are far hotter than this compass. Just keep it sealed, and put it somewhere safe, and there's nothing much to worry about. The hottest source I handled was a 16 mCi Iodine-131 capsule (for hyperthyroidism). I could detect it through the walls. It decayed long ago. It's half-life is 8 days. But, it was detectable for about a few months. Distance, time, and shielding are your three friends! :-)

What is that reading equivalent to?

Wow that thing is "HOT!"

Why is the reading not instantly around the final value, but only slowly increasing??

Just don’t chip it, and shield yourself!

Check out World War Two radium paratrooper discs. I've had the pleasure of measuring one with my Ludlum model 3 and a 44-9 pancake probe and the gamma and beta only reading pegged my meter which at the peg is 700,000, it read 1.2 milli sieverts on my gamma scout which would mean that four hours gives an entire YEAR worth of radiation. Not saying this compass isn't hot, but it isn't that dangerous compared to what else is out there haha the most dangerous part about this is that exposed radium. You can shield or put distance between yourself and a sealed up source of radium, but the stuff OUTSIDE of the glass is dangerous becuase it can get on you or in the air and you can't exactly put distance or shielding between yourself and something that's either on, or even worse, IN you. Be careful with that!

Like your other videos, the mR/Hr scale is absolutely useless with the beta window open on the Eberline (or CD V-700) or on a cheap counter with no energy compensation like that GMC-300. "When the window is open it detects both beta and gamma. This survey meter is calibrated only for gamma radiation, so you can not get an accurate reading of the exposure rate from beta particles, only an indication of their presence." radiation.fallout.cz/htm/700.htm I have a thoriated Kodak lens that'll send my Bicron with a pancake probe past 75,000 CPM. But of course that measure is absolutely useless w/o qualifying the type of tube and its characteristics along with the source type. It's so sensitive, it'll pick up toilet porcelain.

So if it's so dangerous can I buy it from you?

I own 3 of these ww2 british army compasses, should I be worried? Lol

As far I am concerned there should be a public warning about these dangerous toys from the past. Yet they are sold freely on eBay and other places without any concerns about public health.

Wait till you come across a ww2 turn and bank indicator. It will saturate the tube on that smaller counter and give the same reaction on your eberline... from gamma alone.

Wow.☢..i own a radium travel clock made in western Germany from world war 2, and mine is far less hot, than what you got.

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