Radioactive Fence Posts?

[k0ua]

Some TIG welding electrodes are thoriated tungsten. I use lanthanated tungsten. While the risk is very small, during the tip grinding process, small amounts of thoriated tungsten are put into the air and could be breathed in.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Some TIG welding electrodes are thoriated tungsten. I use lanthanated tungsten. While the risk is very small, during the tip grinding process, small amounts of thoriated tungsten are put into the air and could be breathed in.

That is a very important point that needs repeating. Casual, infrequent contact with low level radiation is not normally a cause for concern. However, it's another thing to inhale these materials, and carry them around with you for the rest of your life, basically assuring that you are constantly exposed to the radiation 24 hours a day. This virtually assures that even alpha emissions, which are energetic, but cannot penetrate much more than a sheet of paper, are perpetually bombarding your body with radiation...not to mention some of these isotopes can be extremely poisonous.

Don't ingest it, don't breathe it.

 

[k0ua]

That is a very important point that needs repeating. Casual, infrequent contact with low level radiation is not normally a cause for concern. However, it's another thing to inhale these materials, and carry them around with you for the rest of your life, basically assuring that you are constantly exposed to the radiation 24 hours a day. This virtually assures that even alpha emissions, which are energetic, but cannot penetrate much more than a sheet of paper, are perpetually bombarding your body with radiation...not to mention some of these isotopes can be extremely poisonous.

Don't ingest it, don't breathe it.

Exactly. Holding a thoriated tungsten electrode in your hand is perfectly safe, but breathing in the grinding dust from one...not so much.

 

[Argonne]

Many of the previous posters have addressed the initial question very well, but the discussion brought back memories of an incident in 1983 where a Texas X-Ray machine got sold for scrap in Mexico, and the rest is history.

Here is a pretty good article of how it all went down. A Chance Encounter Led to the Detection of Radioactive Metal - The Washington Post

 

[Gary Fowler]

I think he meant radon, not radium, but I wasn't a licensed radiographer.

You are correct, don't know why I put Radium. Thinking one thing and typing another without proofing it.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Many of the previous posters have addressed the initial question very well, but the discussion brought back memories of an incident in 1983 where a Texas X-Ray machine got sold for scrap in Mexico, and the rest is history.

Here is a pretty good article of how it all went down. ]

Most folks don't know the difference between an Xray machine and a gamma ray radioactive source used to make radiographs (xrays in colloquial speak). An xray machine has no radioactive source so when there is no electrical power to it, it is basically inert. It produces xrays of varying strength depending on the voltage used. It produces X-rays only via a heated coil like a light bulb, strong electro-magnets and a focusing cone. A gamma ray source uses Cobalt 60 produces gamma and beta rays which is the most radioactive source used and required several hundred pound or even thousands of pound of lead shielding to contain the radiation. Iridium or Cesium are man made radioactive sources usually around 100-120 curies when first made but they deteriorate rapidly with half life of iridium of about 30 days. Half life is just that, at a given time depending on the radioactive source, the radiation looses half its life. So with a half life of 30 days a 100 curie source would be 50 in 30 days, 25 in 60days and so forth.
Cobalt 60 has a long half-life of 5.27 years so it is very dangerous to use.

I rather doubt that metals that are contaminated from ground contact (not polluted with a cobalt source when made like the Mexican steel) would be any more dangerous than living in a brick house or living at ultra high altitudes. Almost everything that comes from Mother Earth has some radiation in it in a very, very low level and does us no harm, might even help us.

 

[Argonne]

A gamma ray source uses Cobalt 60 produces gamma and beta rays which is the most radioactive source used and required several hundred pound or even thousands of pound of lead shielding to contain the radiation.

Where I retired from, they had, at one time, the most powerful Cobalt 60 source in the world, 275,000 Curies. The transport trailer actually needed a cooling system for the shielding I am told. By the time I started working there, they had sold some of the source and it was down to a mere 100,000 curies. Even at 100k, an LD50 exposure to that source was under 1 second. Over the years some impromptu "science" was conducted using it. Box Elder bugs unexpectedly took the prize, beating cockroaches by a wide margin...another myth busted.

To further expound on the difference between x-rays and gamma-rays, the only difference between them is the method of production. X-rays are produced artificially, and gamma-rays are produced from radioactive sources. At the business end (the radiation), there is no difference except for energy bandwidth which, except for highly specialized applications, doesn't matter.

 

[Shaneard]

I just warmed my lunch up in the microwave inside a plastic container. Surely that can't be good for you.

 

[Argonne]

I just warmed my lunch up in the microwave inside a plastic container. Surely that can't be good for you.

As long as you punch some holes in the top so you can breathe, you should be fine.

 

[buickanddeere]

You are talking about thorium not tungsten. The percentage used in various industrial applications (alloys) is very small and not a health concern under most conditions.

To the OP -- the pipes you have are not a health concern. If you for some reason decide to remove the scale on the inside of the pipe with a grinder or needle gun, use appropriate PPE.

I am most certainly talking about tungsten. Why doubt me?