Re: Radioactive Crock/Medical

[larisa@sam.neosoft.com (Larisa Streeter)]

I'm forwarding this from the newsgroup rec.antiques as I think the topic
might be of interest to Radsafers. Any comments on the "health benefits"
of this device? :-)

>From: tj@acpub.duke.edu (Thomas Jones)
>Newsgroups: rec.antiques
>Subject: Re: Radioactive Crock/Medical
>Date: 13 May 1995 02:20:17 -0400
>
>>In article <3p08nt$eq4@taco.cc.ncsu.edu>,  steve_bambara@ncsu.edu says...
>>
>>I have a friend who just purchased a pottery crock designed to make 
>>water radioactive for beneficial health purposes.  I may vaguely 
>>remember some mention of this in the past, but can't recall that many 
>>thousand messages ago.
>>Can any of you medical device or physics/radioactivity expects tell 
>>me anything about this?  I am concerned about safety and composition, 
>>not about value.  Is is okay as long as one doesn't drink the water?
>>           Thanks.
>
>I was under the impression that these "Rejuvinators" (which was a brand
>name I think for one of these common radioactive crock pots) were Radium
>"powered" which would give them a half life of over 1600 years.
>It likely hasn't lost any noticable power in the last 50 years.
>
>But it likely has had it's radioactive parts removed over the years.
>Definitely have someone check it out for you before handling it much.
>A local fire department should have a geiger counter to check it out 
>with you, at no cost.
>
>Radium causes primarilly bone cancer (which is what the watch dial 
>painters got) if it is ingested, but if you're just exposed to the 
>radiation, the effects will most likely be leukemias.  Not a nice
>way to go, so it's well worth checking out before exposing your 
>friends and family.
>
>				- tj@acpub.duke.edu
>				Thomas.
>P.S.:  Retail value of these should be anywhere from  $100-$200, 
>with $130-150 being common.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Larisa Streeter
    Corporate Environmental Scientist
      Western Atlas International, Inc.
        Houston, Texas
          larisa@sam.neosoft.com

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