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I am a complete ignoramus in regards anything involving radioactivity, so forgive a bit of a silly question: how dangerous was this kit for kids realistically?

I am a complete ignoramus in regards anything involving radioactivity, so forgive a bit of a silly question: how dangerous was this kit for kids realistically? If they never broke any of the seals, would this have been relatively safe?

dorwi 3y ago
"It described the likely radiation exposure as “minimal, about the equivalent to a day’s UV exposure from the sun”, provided that the radioactive samples were not removed from their containers, in compliance with the warnings in the kit instructions."
- Someone 3y ago
  “about the equivalent to a day’s UV exposure from the sun” doesn’t say anything. If it’s that every day, it’s not _that_ safe. If, on top of that, it’s what you receive from the sun in a day, every day, and concentrated on a few cm² of skin area, it’s downright dangerous. I would guess they mean the same amount of radiation per second and per cm² as that of the sun on a sunny day, while you’re playing with it. I guess that’s fine, as long as you don’t play with it for hours every day (even more so if you do the playing inside a house, as that cuts out the sun’s UV quite a bit)
yreg 3y ago
> The professional journal IEEE Spectrum published a more-detailed review in 2020, discussing the kit in the context of the history of science education kits and safety concerns. > It described the likely radiation exposure as “minimal, about the equivalent to a day’s UV exposure from the sun”, provided that the radioactive samples were not removed from their containers, in compliance with the warnings in the kit instructions. https://spectrum.ieee.org/fun-and-uranium-for-the-whole-family-in-this-1950s-science-kit https://spectrum.ieee.org/fun-and-uranium-for-the-whole-fami...
- ClassyJacket 3y ago
  As an Australian, a day's UV exposure from the sun sounds terrifying
  - teruakohatu 3y ago
    I don't know how AU and NZ compare but NZ has 40% more UV than similar latitudes in North America. https://niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/Liley_2.pdf https://niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/Li...
gymbeaux 3y ago
The article mentions a 2020 paper from IEEE that suggests the radiation exposure from playing with the kit would amount to around 1 day’s worth of UV exposure, so it appears the kit was pretty safe. Of course if a child were to break open a container and say eat the radioactive material, or inhale any dust from it, the radiation exposure would be far greater. Enough to cause cancer in older age? I’m not sure.
- tombert 3y ago
  Ah, you're right. I must have missed that when I was skimming the article...thanks!
  - gymbeaux 3y ago
    Sorry I was one of many who spammed you with the answer
- eternityforest 3y ago
  Kids break things a lot. And don't wash their hands as much as they maybe should. I'm glad this is banned.

dorwi 3y ago

"It described the likely radiation exposure as “minimal, about the equivalent to a day’s UV exposure from the sun”, provided that the radioactive samples were not removed from their containers, in compliance with the warnings in the kit instructions."

Someone 3y ago
“about the equivalent to a day’s UV exposure from the sun” doesn’t say anything. If it’s that every day, it’s not _that_ safe. If, on top of that, it’s what you receive from the sun in a day, every day, and concentrated on a few cm² of skin area, it’s downright dangerous. I would guess they mean the same amount of radiation per second and per cm² as that of the sun on a sunny day, while you’re playing with it. I guess that’s fine, as long as you don’t play with it for hours every day (even more so if you do the playing inside a house, as that cuts out the sun’s UV quite a bit)

yreg 3y ago

> The professional journal IEEE Spectrum published a more-detailed review in 2020, discussing the kit in the context of the history of science education kits and safety concerns. > It described the likely radiation exposure as “minimal, about the equivalent to a day’s UV exposure from the sun”, provided that the radioactive samples were not removed from their containers, in compliance with the warnings in the kit instructions. https://spectrum.ieee.org/fun-and-uranium-for-the-whole-family-in-this-1950s-science-kit https://spectrum.ieee.org/fun-and-uranium-for-the-whole-fami...

ClassyJacket 3y ago
As an Australian, a day's UV exposure from the sun sounds terrifying
- teruakohatu 3y ago
  I don't know how AU and NZ compare but NZ has 40% more UV than similar latitudes in North America. https://niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/Liley_2.pdf https://niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/Li...

gymbeaux 3y ago

The article mentions a 2020 paper from IEEE that suggests the radiation exposure from playing with the kit would amount to around 1 day’s worth of UV exposure, so it appears the kit was pretty safe. Of course if a child were to break open a container and say eat the radioactive material, or inhale any dust from it, the radiation exposure would be far greater. Enough to cause cancer in older age? I’m not sure.

tombert 3y ago
Ah, you're right. I must have missed that when I was skimming the article...thanks!
- gymbeaux 3y ago
  Sorry I was one of many who spammed you with the answer
eternityforest 3y ago
Kids break things a lot. And don't wash their hands as much as they maybe should. I'm glad this is banned.