| RADIOACTIVE GAUGES AND METERS |
 Two WWII-vintage gauges with self-luminous radium paint.  Three more WWII-vintage gauges with radium. As with clocks and watches, the faces of meters and
gauges manufactured before the late 1960s sometimes held self-luminous
paint containing a radium salt, zinc sulfide, and a binder.
Certain military aircraft instruments from WWII are notorious for their
high radium content. With hundreds of times the activity of
luminous wristwatches, they present a definite health risk if
broken. Chances are that many of the collectors who own them are
not aware of their considerable radioactivity.
Of my collection, the fuel level indicator (second image, at right) is the hottest. With the glass faceplate removed, beta / gamma contact doserate exceeds 0.5 rad / hour (measured using an ion chamber); the faceplate glass itself has permanent brown discoloration from radiation damage. Cylinder pressure gauges probably containing about a microcurie of radium (first image, at right) are being sold today in the catalog of a mainstream surplus company for $2.75. Radioactive meters and gauges should be left sealed and no attempt to service them or remove the paint should be made without rigorous personal safety protections. Over time, the paint becomes brittle and can form tiny flakes that would be disastrous to lung tissue if inhaled. |
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