What household items can emit radiation?
| Smoke Detectors - Contain an Alpha and Beta ray producing radioactive isotope of the element Americium that senses smoke. This is sealed, though, and may not give you any reading. | |
| Lantern Mantels - Some of the mantels in camping lanterns, especially those from earlier years, are made of the radioactive element Thorium. Be careful not to inhale the mantle ash! | |
| Watches - Some old watches and clocks, even gyroscopes, have dials painted in radium to make them glow in the dark. Radium emits Alpha and Gamma rays. More recently, Tritium, a radioactive isotope of Hydrogen, has been used to paint the dials, but it is too weak to penetrate the watch lens. | |
| Camera Lenses - It has been reported that certain old Leica camera lenses colored yellow owe their hue to the presence of the radioactive element, Thorium. | |
| Jewelry - Certain gems are irradiated by the radioactive element Radium, X-rays, or other particles to produce a color change. This can make the gem itself radioactive which can last for years in some cases. Also, cloisonné, an enameled variety of jewelry, is glazed with Uranium oxide. | |
| Rocks and Minerals - Minerals such as uraninite and its pitchblende variety, also carnotite and thorianite, contain the radioactive elements Uranium and/or Thorium. | |
| Pottery - Some older pottery such as the Fiesta Ware brand often found in antique stores is glazed with Uranium oxide. When broken, the dust can emit Alpha particles of radiation. | |
| Furniture - More recently, certain metal objects in the home are reported to be partly made of spent radioactive material. |
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