NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Dangerously radioactive navigation instruments
From: Paul Dolkas
Date: 2017 Apr 11, 15:45 -0700
From: Paul Dolkas
Date: 2017 Apr 11, 15:45 -0700
Also because if the tritium (a type of hydrogen gas) escapes to the atmosphere it immediately gets diluted a bazillion-fold, and goes away. If the Radium power gets out, it can still be ingested (or worse. inhaled) in dangerous quantities.
Paul Dolkas
From: NavList@fer3.com [mailto:NavList@fer3.com] On Behalf Of Gary LaPook
Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2017 3:04 PM
To: paul@dolkas.net
Subject: [NavList] Re: Dangerously radioactive navigation instruments
You should be OK because tritium produces only alpha particles which do not penetrate the glass of the tubes so should not set off any alarms, My sextant had radium which priduces high energy neutrons, an entirely different kettle of fish.
glns, an entirely
