HOT Lens. . .

[J.B. Harlin]

Very interesting information. If you own one of these, you may want to invest in a lead box!

The Aero-Ektars

http://home.earthlink.net/~michaelbriggs/aeroektar/aeroektar.html

[Scott Walker]

Yes, very interesting. Thanks for sharing

[E. von Hoegh]

Very interesting information. If you own one of these, you may want to invest in a lead box!

The Aero-Ektars

http://home.earthlink.net/~michaelbriggs/aeroektar/aeroektar.html

Ummm. Yeah. Just don't surround your testes with a ring of radioactive elements fron disassembled Aeros, and you'll be fine. It isn't what you would call penetrating radiation, so no worries unless you really work hard at doing something really stupid.

Worry more about the tapwater you drink, that worry is a good deal more realistic.

[desertrat]

After reading the article, the radioactivity is caused by thorium. The radioactivity of thorium is low, because it has such a long half life. Distance is a much more convenient way to minimize dose than lead shielding. If the lens is kept in a closet that you don't spend very much time near, that should be plenty sufficient. Obviously, a person would be much closer to the lens when they are carrying it around and using it. But unless they spend a significant amount of time every day doing that, radiation exposure should be minimal.

There are other sources of thorium in a workplace environment. The TIG welding process uses thoriated tungsten electrodes. I'm not aware of welders having issues with radioactivity with these. A welder would have to keep several of these in a pocket at all times to get a radiation dose significantly above background levels. I suspect the radiation check source attached to the side of a geiger counter would be more radioactive than an Aero Ektar.

[jcoldslabs]

Thorium was used in older Coleman gas lantern mantles, too. I have some of those in my basement but I think I'll be fine.

Jonathan

[Drew Wiley]

Thorium was also used as the standard mordant in dye transfer printing. The people who
worked with it for decades might be a little nutty by disposition, but I don't know of any
of them glowing in the dark yet! You've probably got more to fear visiting the dentist or
camping atop radon soil.

[Armin Seeholzer]

This is a very old song;--))))

Cheers Armin

[E. von Hoegh]

Some vacuum tubes have thoriated tungsten filaments, and Newt Gingrich apparently has balls of depleted uranium.

[Lachlan 717]

Newt Gingrich apparently has balls of depleted uranium.

Yuck; you made me think a) about Newt Gingrich, b) his balls, and c) how he depleted them… You bastard!!

[E. von Hoegh]

Yuck; you made me think a) about Newt Gingrich, b) his balls, and c) how he depleted them… You bastard!!


Hah! (contrite smiley)

[John Kasaian]

i made a box out of wonderboard (cement impregnated fiberglass used in construction) for my Aero Ektar just to be on the safe side. I also took it to the nuclear medicine department of the local hospital to have them check for bad juju. I also had them check out the box---it completely shielded the lens (the lens hardly emitted any radiation above the "background" and only for a few inches and nothing towards the rear where the film would be.
Of course this pertains only to my particular Aero Ektar, yours is probably different, Still you can find scraps of wonderboard wherever tile work is being done and it doesn't take a lot of it to build a box just for your own peace of mind.