RADIUM COMPASS DANGER - Radiation Exposure 

dude i found one of these in my room i never knew these were that radio active

Nice informative video. At first I thought, "he's sure taking his time with this video" but then after seeing the result from your meter, I changed that opinion. I think the care and deliberate approach you took was warranted. Another warning about Radium; as it emits alpha rays, those atoms become Radon gas. That is very dangerous in the lungs and a major cause of lung cancer, right behind cigarettes. Since there is part of the paint that is not covered by anything, I would put that compass in a container far away from you or anyone else. It might even be a good idea to vent that container outside the house periodically to disperse the dangerous Radon gas. Thanks for your video! Good luck with your collecting and stay safe.

The CD V-700's mR/Hr scale is calibrated to Cesium 137. With the beta window closed, it is energy compensated and reasonably accurate. However, you can only use the CPM scale with the beta window open. You throw away the calibration with the window open - it's much more sensitive (y+b instead of just y) but inaccurate - it seriously over-reports. No item putting off 50 mR/Hr would make it to you via shipping.....

Youd have to be next to that sucker for nearly 10 hours to get close to max mR reading, that us assuming you are reciving 50mR dose, which your not.

Well informitave vid vefy intresting ..

Nice compass. Theres very little risk with this amount of radium. However, you might want to paint clear lacquer over the exposed radium paint to prevent any flakes or particles coming off.

Found in vintage market soviet ball aviation compass. Can they leak radium dust or alpha particles when cover is not damaged? what amounts of radium paint can GMC 300E plus detect?

I wonder if one could paint another thin layer of phosphorus luminescent coating over the existing paint to "reactivate" it's glow

I have _a lot_ of radioactive sources, especially Ra-226. I have a Soviet made source that goes up to almost 1 R/h! Now, I wouldn't worry much about exposure from these. Since it's a _point source,_ you're not getting a years worth of radiation from that. Something like an X-ray machine or a nuclear stress test, yes. That would be a full body dose. I wouldn't use _mR/h._ I'd use _CPM._ These units were usually calibrated with Co-60 back then, and then newer, rebuilt, or recalibrated units were calibrated with Cs-137. The radium paint is also held on fairly well with a resin. Still, these are very nice instruments, and will be worth more as time goes on. But you're right about ingestion and especially inhalation of radium dust. That is hazardous, depending on how much, in activity, and what route(s) it took. Very nice! This is my favorite hobby! I've been into it for many years!

Takes a steel plate 3/4" thick for 50% attenuation of the gammas highest energy peak (over 5% percent of the gamma emissions of bismuth 214, having 2.2 MeV) . The bismuth decay gammas are the most energetic in Ra226 chain. Some betas have more energy but absorbed faster by shielding. These beta braking radiation also may have comparable energies.

Very interesting information. However, you are incorrect in saying you had reached your yearly limit in a matter of minutes from radiation exposure. Actually, it is permissible for a nuclear worker to receive a full body dose of 5 REM (5000 milirem) per year. Minor blood changes due to radiation are not expected to occur until 25 REM (25,000 milirrem) is received in a short period of time. Your video lasted just under 15 minutes. Since your compass is emitting 50 milirrem per hour, if you were exposed to it for 15 minutes your dose of radiation received would be roughly 12.5 milirrems. For comparison, you're receiving slightly more radiation that your average chest X Ray. Yes, these watches are dangerous if carried around in your pocket for days. However, a 15 minute video will not max you out for yearly radiation exposure, nor is it likely to ever have an effect on you.

Measuring a source with the detector probe up against it gives a reading that DOES NOT represent full body exposure. The field of radiation is within a small radius of the source. Moving the probe away from it brings into play the inverse square law. Such a small radium source will not expose a person to full body radiation.

Sur can you please tell me if they still use any kind of radio active material in them today because I have a cheep military Chinese knock off it folds out and has a wire in a slot that you look through to line up on I use it when I go hunting and am pretty worried about being exposed thanks for the video..

wow nice video but I dont think you need to worry too much about the health effects as long as you dont sleep right next to it.

where did you buy this

Do you want to sell the compass?

My MK2 is pushing 60k CPM with my Ludlum2

Just don't open it and lick it.

not all radiation is deadly

That's a nice, spicy compass! I might just end up getting one, since I collect radioactive sources. You're supposed to use *CPM* with the beta shield _open_ on a CD V-700. You're supposed to use *mR/hr* with the beta shield _closed_ on a CD V-700. Otherwise, you're going to get a measurement that is much higher in reality and also energy inaccurate. These are calibrated to a beta + gamma source, with the beta particles blocked (gamma only). These units were usually calibrated with Co-60. Cs-137 is now the most common radionuclide for calibration nowadays. Also, I wouldn't be concerned about exposure from a source like this, as long as it's not internal. _If_ this were a source from, say, a hot cell or a teletherapy source for example, then I'd be concerned. Other than that, this video has nice quality!

Rocky horror picture show fan¿ giggle

Its scary to think how much radiation you would have got when it was new back in the 1940s.