Re: Is monitor radiation slowly cooking me?

JohnB wrote:

...

> I have similar aprehensions about buying brightly painted dinner plates that
> are manufactured off-shore.  Who says the heavy metals used for the pretty
> colors won't leech into the food?

For anything you buy through retail channels in the US, this shouldn't 
be a problem. Dishes and glassware (like fine leaded crystal) that 
shouldn't be used with food are required to have warning labels.

Years ago where I work, somebody turned up with substantial measured 
radiation dose on their dosimeter (which is attached to the ID badge). 
The Health Physics people went over his work day with a fine-tooth comb, 
and could find no radiation exposure, but the badge still showed 
significant mR. Finally, they visited his home and found that he was 
storing his badge in a bright orange dish he had bought in Mexico. 
What's the orange pigment? Uranium ore! The dish was radioactive enough 
to be detected this way. Before the Manhattan Project, this was about 
the only commercial use for uranium.

73,
JohnW