Re: Radioactive Antiques

[rkathren@beta.tricity.wsu.edu (ronald kathren)]

Mark --

I'll sell you one of mine for a heck of a lot less(grin)!  These are
collectors items that oiccasionally crop in antique stores and usually sell
for $60-120.  (Maybe Paul Frame has some information that is better on
this).  In any case, take a look at Chapter 1 of Radioactivity in the
Environment (mine) or Merril eisenbud's Environmental Radioactivity.  I also
have a little bit about the activity from them in Ch. 1 of Volume 1 of the
Brodsky CRC series.

Ron 


>While shopping for additions to my Fiestware collection, I ran into a real 
>surprise which some of you might be interested in if you too are into 
>collecting radioactive antiques. A vendor specializing in old medical 
>equipment had a large white ceramic pot which was labelled "Radium Ore 
>Revigator, Patd 7-16-12". It was in nearly perfect condition, with only a 
>small crack in the lid. The printing on the jar included the following;
>	The Radium Ore Revigator Co.
>	Revigator Building
>	San Francisco, CAL
>	1. Fill jar every night
>	2. Use hydrant or any good water
>	3. Drink freely when thirsty and upon rising and retiring average six 
>	or more glasses daily
>	Scrub with stiff brush and scald monthly.
>
>	It's at times like these I wish I had a monitor with me,'when what to 
>my wondering eyes did appear', sitting right next to this jar was a Victoreen 
>CDV-700! And it was working! Accurate, probably not, but it responded to its 
>check source quite nicely. If the meter reading was accurate, the interior of 
>the jar was on the order of 30 mR/hr.
>	If your interested in this piece of nostalgia, reminiscent of the 
>good old days when the general public actually went out and sought 
>radioactive material for its beneficial purposes,(Oh, but if we could only 
>convince them now that a little radioactivity might be good for you, but 
>things were simpler than, AND A HELL OF A LOT LESS REGULATED! (sorry, just 
>venting some frustration), the cost was $225.00. I would have bought it 
>myself, but Christmas always leaves me short on cash. By the way, the CDV-700 
>was only $90.00. A bargain even at twice the price!
>	Anyway, I have the vendors business card and will pass the info on if 
>anyone wants it. You can reach me at the locations below. Happy Holidays!
>
>Mark E. Linsley
>Brookhaven National Laboratory
>email: linsley@bnl.gov
>phone: 516-282-3556
>
>
>