I'm surprised no one else has brought this up, but radium paint can be found on
A LOT of other WWII A/C parts, not just limited to gauges. That is to include gunsights (K-10, K-11, K-13 etc), instrument panels, switches, etc. I have a B-25 bombardier's panel that glows like a %$#% X-mas tree! I would have never thought all the "paint" on this panel was radium, until I happened to look at it in the dark...I couldn't believe what I was seeing! Needless to say, it's in the garage now. If you have any doubts, just turn off the lights!
Here is an interesting article I think some would find helpful...
>>Hi List:
I apologize for the slight diversion from topic, and hope that Mr.
Skylee will forgive me since it relates to safety.
I posted a message about getting an original MB speedometer, minus the
glass and bezel. A couple of well-meaning listers promptly sent
warnings to me regarding the danger of handling the speedo, since it may
have originally had a radium-based paint applied to the numbers. I
received these messages AFTER I had spent some time with a paper towel
cleaning the face and the retouching some small scratches in the black.
The warnings sent me into somewhat of a panic. After a largely
sleepless night, spent either pacing or searching the web for info on
radiation poisoning, I called a "radiation health" physicist at the
Washington State Health Department as soon as they opened this morning. It might be appropriate to point out that the Hanford Nuclear
Reservation is in Washington, so I'm confident these guys know their
stuff.
The physicist I spoke to indicated the risk is reltively minimal. Many
people know the story of the watch dial painters who died of radiation
poisoning in the 1920's due to occupational exposure (over several
years) to radium. Seems these women had the habit of putting the
brushes between their lips to get a good point on them. The WSHD
physicist pointed out that what most people don't know is that these
women ingested so much paint that if the paint had lead or arsenic in it
in place of the radium, they would likely have died much sooner. He
indicated that brief exposure to the dried radium based paint is
probably not any more dangerous than exposure to any other kind of
paint, and that paint in general is pretty toxic stuff, so reasonable
precautions are warranted. Don't sand radium based paint or otherwise
abrade it (creating dust), and don't mess with it at all if it's flaking
off. OCCUPATIONAL exposure to this stuff, if one were to specialize in
rebuilding these types of instruments, might also be a concern.
He indicated that ingestion or inhalation are the primary risks, and
that I might have a concern if I LICKED the speedo face clean. He
offered to test it if I was still curious, and said they would accept it
for display in their little office "museum" if I decided I didn't want
it. I may take him up on the offer to test it, but he said that he
wouldn't be at all concerned about reassembling it and putting it in my
jeep. He also indicated that once the speedo was sealed back up, there
was virtually no long term risk.
Needless to say, I was VERY relieved. Each one of us has to decide what
risks are acceptable, and there are certainly a myriad of risks
associated with vehicle restoration. Prudent precautions can minimize
the risks. I hope to avoid a long thread on this topic, and I apologize
again for the length of this posting. I am NOT an expert in this
subject, and each one of you should draw your own conclusions. I am
tired and don't want to think about jeeps any more for a while...<<
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