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Thread ID: 83013 2007-09-16 03:11:00 Garage Sale problem (dangerous?) Thomas01 (317) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
591594 2007-09-18 02:02:00 I don't expect anybody there to see the light just yet. R2x1 (4628)
591595 2007-09-18 02:12:00 :lol: rob_on_guitar (4196)
591596 2007-09-18 11:28:00 The year I remember them best was around 1962. Mothers then too were concerned about the radium in the plastic but Revell said if the toy was not actually chewed up and ingested it was harmless. It was harmless anyway even if those conditions were met too...something about macro-elements and digestive fluids and insolvable-in-gastric-fluids plastic...(see: Keebler "Soft Batch Cookies for more information).

Anyway, the radium was captured and encapsulated and not likely to cause any harm...no more than current cellphone radiation to the human brain.


en.wikipedia.org

Xrays arent good for you either

en.wikipedia.org


(The luminescent effect from your dinosaur/mammoth is most likely caused by tritium (I hope :D)).
feersumendjinn (64)
591597 2007-09-18 15:31:00 or maybe spent uranium 235? SurferJoe46 (51)
591598 2007-09-20 02:36:00 It won't be radium, it won't be tritium.

It will be a phosphorescent , non-radioactive, material which is used as a filler in plastics to make glow-in-the-dark stars, human skeletons, dinosaurs, and other toys.
Graham L (2)
591599 2007-09-21 05:16:00 First, let me disclose that I am a Senior Technician at Glow Inc., a company that sells phosphorescent pigments to manufacturers.

As others have said, it is extremely unlikely that your toy is made from anything radioactive. If the glow changes depending on the light charge than it is most likely a phosphorescent material. While there are several of these used over the years like Zinc Sulfide and Strontium Aluminate. These should be safe even if ingested. (Note for the morons: Dont eat the glow paint)

Most likely your toy is based on Zinc Sulfide. If it truly is from the '60s, then how well it still glows will depend on if it was stored in the dark or not. This is because Zinc Sulfide degrades from UV. If it was stored in the dark, it is probably about half of its initial brightness.

We constantly get calls from people concerned about Radioactive materials like Radium and Tritium. Radium was banned for public use in the late '50s. Even then, it was mostly used on watch and clock dials. Keep in mind that the radium didnt glow. It simply charged phosphors similar to Zinc Sulfide which did the actual glowing. Tritium is now popular for gun sights. The claim is that the tiny amount of radioactive material can not pass through the glass vial.

You can read more about the various glow pigments here:
Glow Powders (glowinc.com)

Danny
skylighter (12832)
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