Finding Radioactive Items from the Past in Palm Springs
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- čas přidán 16. 04. 2022
- In this video I explore some Palm Springs antique shops looking for radioactive items, which I find quite a bit.
Some of the radioactive items I find I sell on uraniumstore.com
#radiation #radioactive #uranium
Imagine just walking around the antique store looking at a teapot and some guy comes up beside you and the Geiger counter starts screaming
was wondering that too
Best to leave the screaming to science teachers from New Jersey!
The level of radioactivity varies by piece, ranging from less than 1 percent to up to 25 percent by weight, but there is no recognized danger to handling or using uranium glass, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
@@atarian345 yup, but try explaining that to people who don’t know crap about radioactivity lmao
@@atarian345 You're not wrong Jack, but it can mess with your precious bodily fluids...
I have a small cup that glows, vibrates, and instantly boils water by itself.
🤣...sounds like a nuclear cup.
When its trapped in glass or email it is relatively safe. Except for possible gamma radiation. The biggest threat is to ingest or breath dust particles.
I worked in oil production and when i started the maintenance crew did sandblasting internals of vessels without air supply even without dust masks. Later we got a decontamination company to handle removed pipes. Some made the Geiger counter give a constant beep from some meter distance, mostly radium that one. We had 5 major isotops. Radium, strontium, lead (2 isotopes), radon.
I remember getting radium dials when sending for premiums in cereal boxes in 1949-51. Straight Arrow, Sargent Preston of the Yukon & others sent these cheesy glow in the dark belts, watches, etc.
Wow I’m jealous, you grew up back in the good old days!
This summons up pretty much my experience everytime i go to antique stores
I'm assuming you find it as much fun as I do.
@@RadioactiveDrew I really do! Its a jackpot when you find radium or a really hot piece
I'm old enough to have seen fresh radium dials and they were pretty bright. The constant bombardment with radiation dimmed them relatively quickly, but I can't remember how long it took. They were very green when new (but the image was fuzzy). That dull, dim green light is when they get old.
Yes, the constant bombardment from alpha particles etc etc absolutely hammers the zinc sulphide phosphors & binding agents, so the compound not only dims but becomes dried out & friable. That's when the material becomes a real hazard I think.
I love the antique videos!
I found my first radioactive antique today with my new GMC 500Plus. It was an orange bowl with 3 dots on the bottom. The same pattern as the bowl you found in the video with no markings.
Its always fun finding stuff like this. When I find something that's rare and doped with radium I'm a little more excited with the find.
Seabee retired military we have dosimeters with 200 rad dose.
Kind of like walking dead or Znation.
Chief Eagel speaks Glasgow Montana
Now I feel the need to buy a geiger counter just to look at stuff when my daughter drags me through antique stores looking for Breyer Horses or hockey stuff. She's a very intresting human with her passions. I normally look at the books and cameras. Haven't been finding anything new to me in the Bay Area lately. The glass especially reminds me of pieces that were in the family but lost to earthquakes and time. It be cool to get a few.
Having a Geiger counter of some kind while in antique shops can be a lot of fun. It will also lead you down a path of learning the history of objects and what makes them radioactive. At least that's what it has done for me. There are some cool things to find in the Bay Area. Radioactive tiles on the front of old buildings are really fun to find and document. Some of the designs are amazing...and that whole side of it has its own history that is also pretty interesting.
Since you're into cameras, you might want to check out vintage lenses with your geiger counter as some had Thorium oxide added to the rear glass elements of the lens, which will give a moderately strong response because of the beta particles being fired off, with a small amount of gamma rays too, evident through the closed back cover.
Around 18 months ago, I bought a Pentax Spotmatic 500 complete with a Pentax Asahi super Takumar 55mm f2...all working & in excellent condition, except the light meter. With the Pentax's just make sure the serial number of the lens is higher than 1.5 million, to be sure of a thoriated lens.
@@ajacks1349 he mentioned that in the video - he didnt want to have domeone open the lens displays and make a big deal of doing this
@@meesalikeu He? The comment was directed at Kathryn NOT Drew...
OMGoodness...I'm going to purchase a Geiger counter tomorrow. One of my favorite pass-times is antique shopping. I'm inclined to believe I've brought some products home that I need to get rid of. Thanks for sharing the wisdom.
No problem. I will have a small Geiger counter review coming out this week...FYI.
Your narration of these trips are the best! Keep plugging away and You are on the road to 1 million subscribers! CZcams just recommended this channel to Me and I am subscribed now. Your interpretation of radiation may be a little naive at times but Your content is solid!
I love your channel so much 😊
Love This Info, Thank You!!!!!
Those plates were a really hot item! Thanks for sharing. :)
always check glass & plates you're gonna buy while in the store. I spotted a grimace cup and thought it looked funny, I posted a picture & people were telling me there's so much lead in it I shouldn't touch it!, I recieved old plates from an estate clearing and there was 2500x the modern limit for lead & 100x cadmium in them.
Thanks for sharing another interesting video. Love the quality!
Thanks.
I am a retired xray tech and I love history of radiology and radiation plus love antiques. You just gave me a new hobby idea 💡. Love it. Now I am going to watch your video about which Geiger counter to purchase.
Its a fun hobby. I feel like I'm learning something new about history looking for these objects.
I have two large plates in exactly that orange color. Made me order a Geiger counter, I can use it for testing some old clocks too. I don't want to breath funny dust from those.
These plates were a favorite of my late mom. She didn't like uranium glass etc. But we never thought that we might have had some around all along... She would freak out lol.
Thanks for sharing.
No problem. Thanks for watching.
Hey Drew, I was just at some of those antique shops in Palm Springs yesterday and they were now labeling these orange plates as “radioactive orange”; perhaps in your honor 😊. They are emitting alpha particles and not so much gamma radiation correct?
They emit alpha and beta radiation mainly. They do give off some gamma but not a lot.
I just discovered this channel. You have an interesting hobby. If you don’t mind me asking, where would one store plates etc that are radioactive ?
I store my uranium glazed plates in a glass and wood display case. I made a video about my collection.
My grandpa always drank out of these certain shot glasses he got from Germany after ww2. Both were painted in radium
Usually shot glasses or any other type of glassware wasn’t painted with radium. More than likely it was uranium.
The watches had radium on brushes they put it in mouth to point the tip.
"I'm Jack Bauer and I only eat off of Fiestaware. "
There were a few decades when anything radioactive was a great thing. Often, they would have radioactive water vessels to instill some energy into the drinking water. Yeah, at one time smoking was thought to be healthy too. Cheers!
I have one of those radioactive water vessels...a Revigator. I plan on doing a video about it soon.
@@RadioactiveDrew Yes please...with you drinking some water from it to prove it really is safe...not...🤣
I actually have one of those WWII Astro compass's that I found years ago, and only recently after purchasing a GMC500+ found out how radioactive it is.
My family has been eating on the orange/red fiestaware for a few generations now. My dad brought home a geiger counter from work to freak us out as kids. It worked until we got hungry.
I love this so much
I’m a WWII collector and have that same Astro Compass I got at a yard sale for $30. I don’t know why I never checked it for radium. Guess I’ll have to break out my Geiger Counter!
I've been checking instruments like this lately because I ran into something similar to this in a family members house. Nothing dangerous but good to know its there.
@@RadioactiveDrew yep. I just checked mine and sure enough it's got a little radium. I remember when bought my Norden Bombsight that had a bunch of markings behind glass that were fluorescent under UV. I was crossing my fingers that it wasn't all radium. Luckily, only four small dots had radium on them. The numbers and lines weren't reactive
Funny the Norden being such a high tech piece of gear wouldn't have more than four radium spots. Almost every other instrument in a WWII era aircraft is often quite heavily painted with varying colors of radium lume depending on the instrument. It's always insane to me how for some of the larger components in aircraft and some ship components I saw on a European vessel that they would use radium quantities comparable to that of the largest luminous clocks with inch-long centimeter-wide indicators thickly painted with the stuff.
Interesting. If you showed the owners, should they disclose the radioactive levels to customer before the sale?
I wouldn’t put that upon the owners of the antique shop. People need to know the history of items they are buying. Plus the levels aren’t that high.
Yes, the US government enacted a lot of controls on Uranium during WW2. When Uranium was sent to the USSR for nuclear research on lend lease flights, it had to be sent from Canada, so that Hopkins could get around the Uranium export ban.
So basically most are orangish red glaze that used to use
How much and where to get the geiger counter you are using sir?
I need to get a more portable counter and go hunt the stacks of Fiestaware near me. It would be awkward carrying my CDV700 around the antique store LOL. They would think I was stealing one of the antiques!
I do that whenever I go to the antique store (also have a CDV700) never had an issue with them thinking I was stealing something. First time I took mine to a store the staff mentioned that someone was doing the same thing I was a week before. Usually they are curious about what your doing and after you tell them, what did you find in their store.
I’d always go let them know what I’m doing and see if it’s okay with them first, but no antique store owner in their right mind would tell you “no.” If you find out that something is radioactive, you’re giving them a great excuse to raise the price if you don’t buy it 😂
Whats the hottest thing you've found in an Antique store ?
That's a valid question. Perhaps an Emanator/revigator for enriching water with radon? In Germany is the selling and even the possession forbidden.
The hottest objects I usually run across are radium doped aircraft gauges. But that's only if they are missing the glass on the front of them. All of the extremely radioactive stuff I have found has had radium in it.
I have tried around my local area but no look at all I've got to keep trying I suppose great video
Thanks. Yes, keep looking...you never know what you might find. I've been surprised many times.
@@RadioactiveDrew I think the problem is I don't think there was asmuch radioactive items in the uk I jeep my eye out fir old radium watches but no look so far ill be sure to update you on my finds
@@bmxs1000 I'm kind of surprised, usually radium watches are easier to find than most items...if you are looking in the right places.
@@bmxs1000 Certainly less common in the UK...but I've got a good collection of Uranium glass now in my glass cabinet. Fitted rear facing UV LED strips to create a very impressive glowing green display...but have to say that the prices are generally much higher now, as sellers become more aware of these collectibles.
I've come across a lot of the orange/red porcelain pieces from the 30's & 40's & never found one to be radioactive...it's got to be pottery or earthenware type of ceramic.
Yeah it seems to be more of a thing with earthenware ceramics. So many of these types of ceramics were made in California.
@@RadioactiveDrewYou're really spoilt for choice in the US, as I don't think any other country made completely Uranium glazed pottery for eating/drinking from or used to store foodstuffs. I could be wrong but I don't think so.
We did have makers in the UK that decorated with small amounts of Uranium oxide glaze...say in flower patterns, but used minimally.
I bought a set of 6 through ebay, orange/red demitase cups back in 2020 that were made in the 1950's. Unfortunately, there's no hint of radioactivity, as they were made from porcelain. From the photos they looked really suspicious...the shade of colour was right along with the satin finish.
I'm glad I got them anyway, as they weren't expensive & can be used with the coffee machine.
@@ajacks1349 I totally realize I'm spoiled living in the US looking for stuff like this. Every place is going to have something unique to it.
Buying stuff on ebay can be a bit of a trick because its very hard to tell from pictures. There are ways to narrow it down a bit. You could look for certain manufactures that were only around during that time where uranium glazes were used. This can be very useful but only if there is a makers mark on the object. So many people make stuff up on ebay to sell stuff...usually pictures don't lie but they can be hard to completely trust.
Look for orange Fiesta or Fiestaware. Often called Radioactive Red.
@@matthewdavies2057 I've already got a HL Harlequin teacup & saucer, which makes the GM counters scream. Kind lady sent it FOC from the US back in 2020. Don't want anymore as they're not as visually impressive as the glowing glasses. Just serves to illustrate the STUPIDITY of coating everyday household crockery with Uranium oxides...pure stupidity which I believe was manufactured at least for the "fiesta" range up to 1972, which is almost beyond belief, as it would have been known by then that they're a serious risk to health when used for their intended purpose.
What's your advice for the best cheap geiger counter so I can test some of the plates I have. Anything around the $20 mark by chance? (I doubt it but is there a particular model that is cheap used?)
One of the cheap chinesium ones should do.
About $40 last I checked on the two biggest ecommerce sites (ones beginning with e and A, YT censorbot usually deletes comments that mention them by name). It should have a color OLED screen on the front, white/off white plastic casing and a few membrane buttons for on/off and settings, there are other models too but that type is mass produced and works well enough.
There are slightly more professional, more expensive ones that also function as a dosimeter.
There are more DIY based kits which may be slightly cheaper (and already constructed) but you probably won't get one for $20, geiger-muller tubes aren't cheap, they're fragile too.
What you will see for $20 are devices marked as geiger counters but they're a scam. Instead of a geiger muller tube they contain an antenna. Check the description and pictures, if they say they "detect electromagnetic radiation" (gamma and x rays are EM radiation but this won't detect it) they're quack products designed for people who think they can get radiation poisoning from their mobile phones.
If the images include people checking phones and TVs, chances are it's not a geiger counter, even if it's called one in the item name and description.
If you're really searching for a cheap one, you may be able to get an old surplus military one. Huge, possibly non-functional but still a geiger counter.
Edit: my description is a bit dated, latest budget model has a black casing, membrane buttons have changed to rubber keys, display is still a color OLED, msv/h and a graph on screen.
I’m working on a quick Geiger counter review. Should be out by next week. There’s nothing for $20. Expect to spend at least $150.
@@RadioactiveDrew You don't have to do that for me man. That's really nice of you. If you'd like when you're done you can throw it on ebay and give me the link and I'll pay the $150 or whatever.
@@daviddavidson2357 Thank you
@@daviddavidson2357, _"...two biggest ecommerce sites (ones beginning with e and A..."_ if you go to the "A" site, they still post user reviews. Start by looking at the one-star reviews to get the most honest ones, and decide from there.
What would happen if you put a radioactive plate in the microwave?
I would imagine nothing would happen…guess there’s really only one way to find out.
I found a Geiger counter in an old school fallout shelter. I can't get it to work though.
There are different kinds of meters. The CDV-700 survey meters are sensitive enough to pick up background and mildly radioactive items, most of the others you'll find are for an actual war scenario... They use an ionization chamber instead of a geiger-muller tube. You should look up the model number of what you found, it might be broken or it might just be that those idiot politicians haven't managed to start a nuclear war yet.
It is a bit awkward walking around antique stores with your geiger counter clicking and alarm shirping.
Not really...I try and keep it quiet.
good video
Thanks.
Thanks Drew! What got you started in this hobby?
A video by @brainiac75 about his radioactive collection. That's what got me to get my first Geiger counter.
@@RadioactiveDrew and you're a very bad example lol You made me buy a geiger counter, 1 piece of uranium and a test card... and a book about radioactive minerals How dare you!!
@@collinsfriend1 glad I could help ;)
Just curious are there any health risks having one or a few of those high radioactive pieces?
I never heard of any. My man owns 11.9uCr of smoke alarm pellets. That's about 14 pellets of AM-241, and its mostly alpha rays, which can't pass through a simple sheet of paper. Gamma rays is what you have to look out for that's dangerous to human health. Uranium, and a few others that I forgot. If you have a basement in your house, and the house was built in the 1940s be cautious of Radon gas which seeps out of your basement floor. Buying ionized smoke alarms is safe to have, and even taking one apart for its pellet is fine, just put it inside of a old pill bottle would be safe. Just be sure to label it as radioactive material. Also don't let your kids play with it, its not a toy. Get a Geiger counter, and check the sample you collected. 👍
If you dropped or broke one of the plates, for example, the fine particles might contaminate shoes or clothing, etc., if you didn't clean it up perfectly. It's only when you ingest isotopes that you risk an unhealthy exposure.
I worked in an industrial site with a safety department. Their guy went out in the field and found a damaged radioactive component that was leaking powdered radioactive material. He brought it back to his office and dropped the dust on his office mates desk and on the rug. The building had to be vacuumed by a hazmat team, the contaminated rugs and desk etc put in plastic bags and hauled to a government approved hazmat dump. finally the hazmat team scanned the building with Geiger counters to ensure all the radioactive material was collected.
Then the rooms were redecorated with new rugs desks etc to make it a safe workspace again. Since this was the Safety Teams offices it was the butt of many jokes for years to come.
Not really. You can have a bunch of these plates and be fine. The radiation isn’t very penetrating coming off these. So they can be kept in a display case or something like that and have their radiation shielded. I wouldn’t really use them with food because you might ingest some small bits of uranium.
@@RadioactiveDrew actually the radioactive material that was used was mixed into the glaze its self. As long as the glaze wasn't broken off, or chipped and fine particles of the plate still loose you should be fine. Giving it a good washing with soap and water will be fine.
I am so jealous, really can’t find anything like this in Australia. I did find a 7mSv/hr radium source recently though!
That sounds interesting. What kind of source was it? Paint?
7mSv/hr?! thats a lotta radium
@@hannesk19 back light on a Soviet dosimeter (DP-63-A)
@@LubckeEnjoyer 🌶🌶🌶
@@catfission classic dp-63a, it also got a strontium-90 source
unrelated: do you have any autunite samples?
Yes. I have a 20 lbs piece that I have to size down and put on my website. Its been stilling in a bucket for a year. I was thinking about doing a video about the prep for a sample like that.
@@RadioactiveDrew holy shit. that's a big piece. would you consider doing an experiment with it? There are very old reports of autuntite being self-luminous (R J Strutt 1909 - "Note on the Spontaneous Luminosity of a Uranium Mineral"), which is to say, naturally radioluminescent. Could you perhaps isolate it in a completely dark room and see whether or not you are able to detect any light it may be emitting with dark adapted eyes? You will probably need to remain in complete darkness yourself for a good 15-20 minutes before attempting the observation. Alternately, if you have something like an A7s maybe there's even a chance it could be captured in an image? To my knowledge this phenomenon has not been reliably observed for well over a century and never captured on film, but the original report of its existence is so convincing and well documented it is almost certain to be real. It would definitely make an interesting video.
@@Muonium1 now that would be interesting. I’ll have to look this up and see if it’s true. I know autunite glows green in UV light. But that would be super interesting if it could glow on its own. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
Good score but how much did you pay ❓
Pretty sure for all three plates it was $40.
One would think it would be illegal to sell these pieces. An unsuspecting person buys and uses one or displays it in there home constantly exposing themselves or others. At least lable each piece as being radioactive
The radiation may seem high but its easily blocked by glass or wood. Plus its not very penetrating. I heard from someone that went to the location after I put out my video saying they had stickers on some objects saying they were radioactive.
There are a few idiots selling truly dangerous items on ebay UK that I know of...funny how the police & ebay couldn't care less.
@@RadioactiveDrew Drew...can you possibly shed some light on whether there is any risk from RADON, when collecting Uranium/vaseline glass? This is something that has NOT been properly explored it seems. Some people collect huge amounts of this glass & display it in UV lit glass cabinets within living spaces, close to where people are seated.
How dangerous are these pieces to have in one's home?
Really depends on what you are doing with them. If you have them in a display or on a shelf somewhere to admire...you're good. If you are using them as your daily food dishes...the risk goes up but not a lot. So many of these dishes were made back in the 1930's-1940's. There were even some companies that were still using uranium glazes for ceramics into the 1960's. People weren't getting sick or dying from these dishes.
Thank you for the reply. Definitely would only use something like that for display. Some of the military compasses are nice but have been afraid to buy one in the past due to the radium. @@RadioactiveDrew
@@kennixox262 I have some radium compasses and watches I keep in the house. There are some other radium items I keep in the garage, like some radium personal markers, industrial radium smoke detector and some aircraft gauges. Its about finding what you're comfortable being around.
You didn't buy the David Cassidy portrait? 😳😂😂
Yeah, add that to your Justin Beiber portraits ;-)
I found a plate that was 70,000 Cpm
That’s a hot plate.
@@RadioactiveDrew warms the food, Forever
Does it glow in the dark?
@@MrJx4000 no it’s large orange California kilns dinner plate
@@MrJx4000 It's not Uranium glass...but a Uranium glaze coating on a ceramic.
Its to keep your food worm,😂😂😂
You would think the shop would have to test for radioactivity and advertise as such.
No, you really wouldn’t think that unless you were insane. How many people do you personally know that own a Geiger counter? Plus the actual radiation isn’t dangerous at all, so it really doesn’t matter.
I bought some hot and possibly dirty (degrading) clocks from the thirties. So I went to the antique clock specialist here (Europe). But all I met was boomer energy. Blaze attitude. Discarding. Without being pushy I tried to talk some sense into him. Useless. "I've been handling this stuff for 40 years!" But he has nothing to deal with the radiation, the gas and the hot flakes. I hoped for a quick measurement. But that guy lives in the 16th century.
A lot of people have a very hard time wrapping their minds around radiation or that radioactive substances can be found in everyday things. I guess if he was okay with the risk not knowing much or not wanting to know...what can you do. Sometimes you just have to let people be who they are.
@@RadioactiveDrew Yeah, but radioactive contamination transcends opinion. He's a pro.
I just found a uranium glass vase in my house. I have more of that stuff. Green and yellow. But this one is magenta / brown. Somewhat like alexandrite / neodymium but darker. I hadn't exposed it to UV. It just turned green to my surprise. Somewhat faint but clearly green. It's a nice tall art nouveau piece. Not bright at all in colour. It does look odd, kinda special. I think the uranium does the trick. You might want to move your counter closer to the occasional weird thing.
Decent channel, by the way. You've got an eye for nice images.
Thanks. I try and check things that don’t seem to be radioactive because sometimes I am surprised.
If he's a boomer, and been around this stuff for decades... It's kinda late for him to be concerned. Additional cancer risk 30 years from now is the least of his worries!
dishes that give off a rad count, I would think these are the one you wouldnt want in your home ??????
I have a bunch in my house. But they mainly live in a display case. The glass and wood blocks most of the radiation.
You should do some fish products, all fish from the oceans will hVe radioactive fall in them all the way back fome bikini atoll hydrogen tests my dad was in it,all his kids have thyroid troubles, and are eyes glowed orange in old Polaroid photos,
Did you know that the oceans have naturally occurring uranium and thorium in the water. The oceans don't have any meaningful fallout from atomic tests.
funny uranium glass isnt the worst
i wouldnt want any in my house
why tempt fate
It’s pretty safe as long as you aren’t eating it or sleeping on it.