Deliberately. I went out and bought this stuff. Here's a list:
The tugsten welding rods I use are thoriated, which means they are spiked with 2% radioactive thorium. I have about a kilo of those.
The ionization detectors for my smoke alarms have a radioactive chip of Americium, a synthetic element which is manufactured inside a nuclear reactor. It's a piece of active nuclear waste from the bowels of a reactor core, basically.
Multiple sources of ultraviolet radiation for curing resins, erasing EPROM computer chips, and sterilizing drinking water.
Two glass vials of tritium, the stuff in hydrogen bombs that I use as maplights.
Many vacuum tube devices, which use radionuclides to enhance their low power operation, kind of like my welding rods.
A half kilo of vanadium pentoxide catalyst for stripping pollution from diesel engine exhaust. This is one of the leftovers from yellowcake after the uranium is taken away.
So, even as I point out the dangers, I also have to address my complicity. These things do make my life easier, and in some cases, possible. But they are not without cost.
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Re: God protects fools and children
Date: 2009-08-13 08:51 pm (UTC)The tugsten welding rods I use are thoriated, which means they are spiked with 2% radioactive thorium. I have about a kilo of those.
The ionization detectors for my smoke alarms have a radioactive chip of Americium, a synthetic element which is manufactured inside a nuclear reactor. It's a piece of active nuclear waste from the bowels of a reactor core, basically.
Multiple sources of ultraviolet radiation for curing resins, erasing EPROM computer chips, and sterilizing drinking water.
Two glass vials of tritium, the stuff in hydrogen bombs that I use as maplights.
Many vacuum tube devices, which use radionuclides to enhance their low power operation, kind of like my welding rods.
A half kilo of vanadium pentoxide catalyst for stripping pollution from diesel engine exhaust. This is one of the leftovers from yellowcake after the uranium is taken away.
So, even as I point out the dangers, I also have to address my complicity. These things do make my life easier, and in some cases, possible. But they are not without cost.