[net.med] Radioactive jewelry.

anon (01/26/83)

I heard on the radio this am that some ceramic or ceramic-glazed
type jewelry was recently found to be mildly radioactive.  It was said
to be cheap jewelry, and the recommended solution was to discard it.

mmt (01/30/83)

Isn't it reasonable to assume that anything made from stones
that come from the ground will be mildly radioactive? This includes
jewellery, houses, roads etc. Shall we discard them all?
Let's worry about radioactivity when it reaches dangerous levels
(i.e. noticeably above the natural background at, say, Denver).
		Martin Taylor

crs (02/02/83)

I read recently (I don't recall where) that some manufacturers were
irradiating gem-stones (perhaps synthetic ones) to change or control
their color.  I no longer remember the details of the article but it
seems that jewelry was turning up with significant amounts of residual
radioactivity.  Sorry I can't remember where I read it; perhaps some-
one else can.

Charlie Sorsby